Soldier
by Zeobide274
Summary: Zack becomes the Spiritual Leader of Soldier after Angeal's death and to his surprise, Cloud becomes a Soldier 3rd class. Now Zack must help train the new recruits while at the same time help save the world from an immanent threat. Zack/Aeris.
1. Who Was That Guy?

**I don't own Final Fantasy 7.**

**Hello and welcome to my first Final Fantasy story ever. I had the idea for this story after reading another FF7 story called "The Difference One Life Makes" by Irish-Brigid. Its an awesome story and one that I've enjoyed immensely. I highly recommend you check it out if you haven't already. **

**Anyways, this story will be an AU because of one simple fact. Cloud actually does make Soldier. It takes place right after Angeal's death when he becomes a monster and Zack must kill him. If you've played FF7 Crisis Core then you know what I'm talking about. **

**The main reason I'm writing this is because as a fan of FF7, I always wondered why Soldier was so…down played. Sure, we got to see Zack in action and Cloud thought he was in soldeir but that was it. Soldier are suppose to be the best of the best. An elite fighting force of the Shinra company. We see Zack in action but not much else. So I decided to see how far I could go with this project. **

**This will be a test to see if I can write FF7 stories. For now, the only pairing that will be mentioned will be Zack/Aeris. Yes, I know that her name is spelled Aerith but I played the original FF7 game back in the day and it was Aeris back then so I'm sticking with it. **

**I don't want to spoil too much but while this does and will involve the same plot of FF7 and Crises Core, it will be different. I'm not just going to follow the game to a T. I'm making changes and I'm doing things my way. I want to be as original as I can while keeping the characters as real as I possibly can. Hopefully you will all like this. **

**Well on with the story. **

**Soldier**

**Chapter 1: Who Was That Guy?**

A group of young men stood in attendance as their superior officer came into view. His name was Zack Fair, Soldier First Class. He was a tall man, standing over 6 feet tall with well groomed but spiky black hair. He wore the Soldier First Class uniform which consisted of a black sleeveless turtle-neck and black baggy pants, with leather accents that held his armor in place as well as the large sword on his back.

With a kind smile, Zack look at the many heads that were facing him. This was one of his duties now that his mentor was no longer with them. Angeal…the former Soldier First class, mentor of many Soldier First Class Hopefuls. That especially held true with Zack since Angeal had trained him since he first joined Soldier.

"So you're all rookies, huh?" he asked them.

"Sir! Yes, Sir!" the new recruits said at once.

There were 30 new Soldier Third Class operatives, all wearing the Soldier uniform. The Uniform for 3rd was the same as for 1rst except that the color was blue instead of black. They were also issued grey helmets and a Soldier standard sword.

"A piece of advice…no, an order…" Zack said as he looked at them all. "Embrace your dreams…and no matter what, always protect your Soldier honor…"

"Sir!" they all called out again.

"We're call coming back here alive, you got that?" Zack asked them.

"Sir! Yes, Sir!" they rang out again.

"Dismissed!" Zack said with a wave of his arm.

As the recruits started filing out, two third class members walked up to him. One was confident in his walk while the other seemed a bit nervous. With their helmets on, Zack couldn't see who they were.

"Sir, permission to speak, sir?" the confident of the two asked.

"Go ahead…" Zack nodded.

"Sir, my friend and I would just like to say that we won't let you down. We will uphold our Soldier Honor no matter what." the Soldier said. Then he nudged his buddy before saying. "Isn't that right, Cloud?"

"Cloud? Is that really you?" Zack asked in disbelief.

With a shy nod, Cloud raised the visor from his helmet and revealed his face to his friend. "H-Hi Zack…" he said sheepishly.

"Wait…if you were here…then who was that guy I told to hang in there…?" Zack asked as he looked over their heads toward the Infantry barracks.

"You know him?" the Soldier asked Cloud, surprised that he hadn't known before. "How come you didn't tell me this before?"

"Um…I don't know…" Cloud said, his head hanging a bit.

"Its okay…mind introducing me then?" the Soldier said.

With a nod, Cloud began the introductions. "Zack, this is my friend, Zhane, Zhane, this is my friend Zack."

"Nice to meet you, Zhane. Any friend of Cloud's is a friend of mine." Zack said as he shook Zhane's hand.

"Like wise. Though I have to ask, how did you guys meet?" Zhane asked. "I met him last month when we tried to pass the exam for the fourth time in a row."

"How about we have a few drinks to get to know each other better?" Zack asked them.

"I'm down…" Zhane said.

"Okay…" Cloud agreed.

"So I have to ask…what's it like being a first…" Zhane asked as they headed toward the bar.

**End of chapter.**

Well what did you think? Did any of you catch the joke near the end there? If you played the game then you know what I mean. if not, well look it up. As for the Zhane character, I'm going be expanding the roster of known Soldier members so that we can see a wider range of them. Kunsel will be in this story as well as other members that are seen throughout the game. Eventually Sephiroth will make an appearance. But for now, we're going to get to know the main characters of this story. But that's for the next chapter. Zhane is going to be Cloud's friend during their missions together since Zack will probably be busy hunting down Genesis.

The next chapter will be longer with some more character development and some humor. The fighting won't start until chapter 3 where Cloud gets assigned his first mission. Well till next time.


	2. Speechless

**I don't own FF7.**

**Hello and welcome to the next chapter of Soldier. This chapter shows a bit of Zhane's past while at the same time focusing on Cloud's new experiences. I hope that you all enjoy this chapter .**

**Soldier **

**Chapter 2: Speechless**

Cloud sat down in between Zack and Zhane. They were at the local bar in sector 8 known as Shinra's Delight. It was well known for 10% off all drinks for Shinra Infantry and 15% off Shinra Soldiers. They had ordered their drinks and Zhane and Zack began getting to know one another.

Cloud for his part kept staring at the drink in his hands. He had never had alcohol before and he was wondering what would happen if he drank it. As far as he knew, being a Soldier meant that you were more immune to alcohol poisoning but did that mean that you couldn't get drunk? Well it looked as if he were about to find out.

"So as I was telling you, I grew up here in Midgar. Born and raised. But I'm also an orphan…I grew up in the Sector 4 slums on the other side of Midgar." Zhane said, explaining his past. "I never knew my parents…so I grew up mostly alone. Eventually I found friends that I grew up with. Both of them actually made it into Soldier along with me and Cloud here."

"Where are they?" Zack asked as he looked around.

"They had a mission right off the bat. Some escort duty or something." Zhane explained. "Anyways, their names are Davis Motomiya and Ken Ichijouji. They're my brothers in all but blood. We looked out for one another ever since we first met. I think that this is the first time that we've actually been apart in years."

"Davis and Ken, huh? Well when we have the time, lets schedule a training season with the five of us. I can bring a friend of mine and we can have a 3 on 3 spar." Zack said.

"Yea! That sounds like it could be fun. It would give me a chance to see how I stack up against a first." Zhane said excitedly.

"Hey Cloud, you're awfully quite, something the matter?" Zack asked his friend.

Zhane leaned down and stared up at Cloud's face. Zack did the same and what they saw amused them. Cloud was concentrating so hard on how to take his first drink that he hadn't taken a single sip.

"I think this is his first drink…" Zack said as he sat up right again.

"Its my first drink too…but I'm not all serious about it like him." Zhane said as he took another swig of his beer.

"Take your time, Cloud." Zack said, patting the blond on the back.

"Huh? What?" Cloud asked as he was snapped out of his concentration. What he found was that his friends were laughing at other side of him. "Did I miss something?"

"Cloud, have you ever had a beer before?" Zack asked him as he calmed down.

"Um…no…" Cloud said a bit timidly.

"Its okay, pal. This is my first time too and nothings wrong with me, is there?" Zhane asked, trying to make his friend feel better.

"Do I have to answer honestly?" Cloud asked in a somewhat joking manner. This brought a smile to his face as both Zhane and Zack started laughing. Joining them, he brought the bottle to his lips and took his first drink.

"So how was it?" Zack asked him.

"its…a little bitter…" Cloud said honestly. "But not bad…"

"Our little boy is growing up." Zhane said jokingly to Zack.

"I know…next thing you know, a woman will come by and sweep him off his feet." Zack said, joining in on the joke.

Then to the surprise of all three of them, Cloud was yanked off of his stool at the bar and was pulled away from them.

"What the?" both Zack and Zhane turned around to see that a woman had been responsible for the sudden abduction of their friend who at the moment appeared confused.

Zack immediately recognized the woman and gave a her a playful smile. "Cissnei, I didn't know you were into blonds? " Zack said mischievously.

The woman name Cissnei blushed before releasing Cloud. Now that he could get a good look at her, Cloud saw that that she was wearing the standard black suit that all Turk members wore. She had long brown hair that stopped around her shoulders and had warm brown eyes. She appeared to be slightly embarrassed by Zack's comment.

"You never stop playing, do you, Zack?" Cissnei said as she sent him a light glare. "I'm here on official business. You three are needed for an assignment."

"Well boys, duty calls." Zack said as he downed the last of his drink. "Lets go."

And so Zack walked past Cloud, grabbed the back of his shirt and began dragging him toward the Shinra building. Zhane simply laughed as he and Cissnei followed the pair. Cloud on the other hand didn't know what was going on. Had alcohol made him hallucinate or something? For the moment, Cloud simply let Zack drag him on as he wondered what had happened to him, speechless as he stared at the girl that followed them. Was she real or a hallucination?

**End of chapter.**

Well what did you think? In the next chapter, Cloud will go on his first mission while at the same time several Turks will be introduced as well as their main enemies for the first Arc. Also, I've been wondering but what kind of limit break should I give Zhane and Kunsel? I know what Zack's and Cloud's Limit Breaks are but I'm still trying to decide what to choose for them. Well till next time.


	3. Briefing

**I don't own FF7. **

**Hello and welcome to another chapter of Soldier. In this chapter, the mission will be discussed, introducing the main villains for the first Arc. This will be Cloud's first mission as Soldier as well as Zhane's. The actual combat though won't start until chapter 5. **

**Also I'm introducing several Turks in this chapter, some of which will become friends with Cloud, Zack, and Zhane. They will be part of the main cast of characters for the time being. Obviously Cissnei is one of the Turks. Reno, Rude, and Tseng will be making an appearance later. **

**Well enough about this, lets get on with the show. Enjoy. **

**Soldier **

**Chapter 3: Briefing**

Cloud sat down at the mission briefing beside Zhane and three other members of soldier. Zack sat at the head of the group and was listening as their director explained their mission objective.

A terrorist organization known as Avalanche was rumored to have built a base in the northern continent and they were being assigned to aid the Turks in their destruction. Cloud wondered if he would have to face another one of their Raven members. He had fought against them once before and they didn't die easy. Cloud was only able to defeat it by cutting of its head.

Once the briefing was done, Soldier Director Lazard wished them good luck and gave them an hour to prepare before heading toward the helicopter deck on the roof. As they walked out of the briefing room, Cloud noticed the girl again and turned to ask Zhane.

"Is she real?" Cloud asked his friend.

"Huh? What are you talking about?" Zhane asked him, confused as to what he meant.

"Earlier when I took a drink of my beer, I think I started hallucinating…" Cloud confided in his friend.

"What makes you think that?" Zhane asked, slightly concerned.

"Well…I started seeing this girl in black…but I'm not sure if she's real or not…" Cloud said as he pointed toward Cissnei. "I mean, look, everyone is passing her by as if she weren't there…" when Cissnei saw that Cloud was pointing at her, she smiled kindly before waving. Unsure of what to do, he waved back half heartedly before turning to his friend. "She just waved at me, did you see?"

Zhane had two options right now before him. One, he could be honest and tell Cloud that he wasn't hallucinating and that Cissnei was indeed a real person. Or two, he could use this golden opportunity to play a joke on his friend. Like any honorable Soldier Third Class, Zhane did the right thing. "Cloud, buddy, I think you're seeing things…" Zhane said with a straight but slightly concerned face. "I don't see anyone there…"

"Oh…um…do you think she's a ghost?" Cloud asked, a little fearful.

Zhane inwardly smiled. This was playing out better than he imagined. "Could be…what does she look like? This girl in black?" he asked.

"Well…she's pretty…she has long brown hair…and she's wearing a black suit…" Cloud said as he described her. Cissnei chose that moment to begin walking toward them. "And now she's walking toward me…" he was starting to sound a little panicky.

Zhane almost felt bad for his friend, almost. "Cloud, buddy, that sounds like the legend of the Black Mamba…" Zhane said quickly in a hush tone as Cissnei neared. "She used to be a real person before she was killed by her own lover…legend says that she roams the world, searching for her lover, wanting to get revenge for the betrayal…" Cissnei was close now, just five feet away. Zhane lowered his voice down to a whisper. "They say that her lover was blond and that she kills all the blond guys that she finds…"

"There you are, blondie, thought I've never find you." Cissnei said cheerfully to the now frightened Cloud.

It was too perfect. Cloud shouted and jumped back in fear, calling Cissnei the Black Mamba as he hid behind Zhane, who burst out laughing at the top of his lungs. The look on Cissnei's face made it all the more worth it.

"Oh my god, I can't believe you fell for that!" Zhane said as he roared with laughter.

"What's going on here?" came Zack's voice.

Zack arrived followed by three Second Class Soldiers, all three of them wearing the purple colored uniform of a Second. The scene was a strange one to say the least, Zack found Zhane laughing his ass off while Cloud hid behind him and Cissnei looked more confused than he was.

Turning to Zhane, Zack asked him. "Mind explaining?"

"Well…you see…" Zhane said as his laughter began to die down. He explained the conversation between Cloud and himself and how he came up with a scary legend to scare Cloud. He explained though that it was just a joke and that he was sorry.

"I see…that was pretty funny…" Zack said as he began to laugh. But the look on Cissnei's face made him cut his laugh short. "Ahem, I mean, that was very wrong, Zhane, don't do it again."

"Yes sir!" Zhane said, trying his best not to receive Cissnei's glare. Then he turned to Cloud. "Again, I'm sorry, Cloud, I just couldn't help it."

"Its okay…" Cloud said, forgiving his friend. "It was pretty funny…"

"So these are the kids you told me about?" one of the seconds asked Zack.

"Yup, they're my friends…" Zack said. "Cloud, Zhane, I want you to meet Kunsel. He's been a great help to me ever since I started Soldier. I'm sure that if you ask nicely, he will be more than happy to help you out as well."

"Nice to meet you." Cloud said as he shook hands with Kunsel.

"What he said." Zhane said, giving Kunsel a salute.

"Things are definitely going to get much more interesting around here now…" Kunsel said as he eyed the two Thirds.

"I also want to introduce our two teammates during this mission. Cloud, Zhane, meet Roy Hawkeye and Duke Armstrong. They're both experienced members of Soldier and should be treated with respect, do I make myself clear?" Zack said though everyone noticed that he was only eyeing Zhane.

"What? I'll behave." Zhane said. "I don't fool around on missions."

"Lets hope not, kid." Roy said, looking skeptically at Zhane.

"Come on, we have a mission to prepare for." Duke said as he motioned for Roy to follow him.

"Did you really believe that I was a hallucination?" Cissnei asked Cloud once Roy and Duke had left.

"um…yea…" Cloud said, looking embarrassed.

"Huh…well that's a first." Cissnei said. She gave him a warm smile. "Don't worry, I'm not mad or anything. It was an honest mistake."

"Hey Kunsel, is there something on your mind?" Zack asked his long time friend.

Kunsel had a thoughtful expression as he stared at Cloud and Zhane. "Don't they remind you of anyone?" Kunsel asked his friend.

"What do you mean?" Zack asked his friend.

"Well, they sort of remind me of us." Kunsel said. "I was kind of quite when we first met, remember? But over time you got me to open up and now I can't shut up."

"Ain't that truth?" Zack joked.

"I'm being serious…in time, I bet that we're going to be seeing them on the front page of the Shinra news." Kunsel said.

"Yea…I agree…" Zack said. "I just wish that Angeal could've seen this…"

"He already has…" Kunsel said, comforting his friend. "He saw us, remember?"

"Yea…" sighing, Zack decided that it was time to get moving. "Alright guys, its time to prepare for our mission. We have to escort Cissnei here up the north and make sure she gets there safely. Are there any questions?"

"I have one, sir!" Zhane asked as he raised his hand. "Where can I get a sword like that?"

"Heh…this one is special…only Soldiers of First Class can wield it." Zack said as he placed his hand on the handle of the buster sword. "Besides, you should learn how to master your own sword before wanting to upgrade." "Sir, yes sir!" Zhane said enthusiastically.

"Um…will you teach us how to be a better swordsman?" Cloud asked him.

"Of course…after this mission I'll be more than happy to train the both of you." Zack said. Then he placed his arm around Kunsel, giving them a large smile. "And I'm sure that Kunsel here would love to be my punching bag, I mean assistant. isn't that right, Kunsel?"

"Heh…right…" Kunsel said with a hint of sarcasm.

(/_\)(￣ー￣)(/_\)

They had arrived at the Shinra base after 2 day's travel. They had taken a chopper from Midgar to Junon and from there they had taken a ship to the north. Once they arrived on the northern continent, there was a Shinra transport that had taken them to the base.

Cloud was shaken awake by Zack as they were asked to get down. Zhane had fallen asleep as well and now he was being stirred awake by Kunsel.

"Its time to wake up, sleepy head." Zack said playfully. "We're here."

"We're at the base?" Cloud asked groggily.

"Yup yup. Its time to get off and get briefed on the situation here." Zack informed him.

Once they got off of the transport carrier, Cloud and Zhane were given a brief tour of the facility before being taken to Zack. Zack then had them sit down and listen in on the mission briefing.

A woman by the name of Bethany walking into the meeting room and stood at the front of the room. The meeting room was a large conference room large enough to fit about 30 people. Currently there were 20 people seating around the table. There was seven Turk members, including Cissnei and Bethany. From soldier that was Zack, Kunsel, Roy, Duke, Cloud, and Zhane as well as two more Second Class Soldiers that Cloud had never seen before. Then there was five Officers from the Shinra Military.

"Alright, as you all know the terrorist organizing known as Avalanche as recently become more open with their intentions. They have started to directly oppose Shinra." Bethany said. In her hand was remote control that controlled the projector. On the screen behind her, a map of the area was shown. "This is where the Shinra base is located about 3 miles from the base of the mountain range that extends farther north." then she used a laser pointer to circle an area about 7 miles from the base. "Here is the location of the base that our Turk operatives located and where they also rescued two captured Soldier members."

Bethany then motioned for the two Soldier members to stand up. "Second Class Soldier Essai and Second Class Soldier Sebastian were both captured by the genetically enhanced super humans known as the Ravens. They are a group created by Avalanche in order to fight against Shinra's Soldier." Bethany then motioned for Essai and Sebastian to speak. "What can you tell us about your captors?"

The one called Essai spoke first. "The Ravens are equal in strength with Shinra Soldier. Some are even stronger, able to easily match our Firsts." Essai informed them. "The one that captured us was strong…probably stronger than you, Zack."

"Stronger then me?" Zack asked him. "Are you sure?"

"Yes. He was able to defeat us single handedly despite our best efforts." Sebastian said, speaking for the first time. "Even with Materia, we were no match for him."

"Damn…it's a good thing that we brought more Soldiers then." Zack said. "If he's as strong as you say he is, then its going to take all of us to defeat him."

"You can defeat him, right?" A male Turk asked. He was a tall man in his early 20s with short auburn hair. "Ryu, don't ask questions that can lower morale." Bethany said, scolding her colleague.

"Sorry, Beth, but if I'm going out into battle against things that can rival a First, I want to make sure that we have the necessary force to take them out." Ryu said.

"Its hard to tell if I can beat him just yet." Zack said honestly. "But I promise you that I won't give up. I'll find away beat him. After all, I have my Soldier Honor on the line."

"As I was saying, Avalanche Ravens are strong but we have one clear advantage over them." Essai continued. "The Ravens cannot think for themselves. They are single minded drones with no personality or emotions. They only follow and do not lead."

"We discovered this when Rikku, Yamato, and Tamaki rescued us. As we made our escape to the surface, we encountered a pair of Ravens that simply stood still. It wasn't until the alarm began blaring that they started attacking us." Sebastian said.

"We also fought against the Ravens." a raven haired woman said. "For those of you who don't know me, I'm Rikku, code name Knife. When Yamato, Tamaki, and I fought against the Ravens, we were at a severe disadvantage for one very clear reason. They wouldn't die."

"What do you mean they wouldn't die?" Kunsel asked, intrigued by this bit of information.

"They mean that the Ravens can heal from almost any injury." Cloud said, speaking for the first time since entering the meeting. Everyone turned to face the newly made Third Class, making him feel a bit nervous.

"And you are?" Bethany asked, eyeing the nervous blond.

"I'm Cloud Strife, Soldier Third Class, former member of the Shinra Infantry." Cloud said, introducing himself.

"And what experience do you have with the Ravens?" Bethany asked him.

"Wait, I remember you. you're that kid who fought alongside me a few months back." a black haired man said.

"Yamato, you know this kid?" Ryu asked, eyeing his fellow Turk.

"Yea, it was during an escort mission to protect Prof. Rayleigh. I thought that you were dead." Yamato said, staring at Cloud. "You took a nasty hit there."

"I didn't die…" Cloud informed him. "And yes, I have fought them before. It was during that mission that I killed one of them. But during that battle, I saw that despite unloading an entire clip into the Raven's chest that he didn't die. He rose back up and I saw his bullet wounds close right before my eyes."

"How did you kill it then?" asked a skeptical Bethany.

"I cut its head off with its own sword. I was out of ammo and that's when I was stabbed by it." Cloud said, explaining the events as they happened. "I panicked…I kneed the Raven in the crotch and I got free of it. It's sword was still in me so I pulled it out and as it came at me, I swung. I cut its arms off as well as its head."

"Are you sure it was dead?" Bethany asked.

"Yes, I'm positive. I stabbed it in the heart for good measure though." Cloud said.

"I see…should any of you come to face a Raven, aim for their head. It seems like the only way to kill them." Bethany said after hearing the new piece of information. Then she turned to Essai and Sebastian. "Is there any other information that you can give us?"

"Yes." Essai said. He used his hand to point at the location of the enemy facility. "The base is large enough to hold a small army. I'd say about 200 tops."

"And from what we were able to see, the base is built mostly underground." Sebastian said. "The best way to attack the base would be to draw them out in the open so that we can take them out with our artillery."

"I agree." Bethany said. "Do you have anything in mind that might work."

"We need a large force, one that can be move quickly and efficiently." Essai said. "The Avalanche soldiers aren't as well trained as the Shinra Military but what they lack in quality they make up for in strategy."

"Their leader, Fuhito, is a brilliant tactician. He should be our first priority. Without him, Avalanche is nothing." Sebastian said. "Fuhito is currently at the lowest level of the base, working on some secret project. He told us so himself while we were held prisoner."

"I suggest we attack from two fronts." Essai said. He placed his finger to the north where there was a bridge. "This is the fastest way to reach the base without being seen. A small elite group should take this route and enter the base without being seen."

"I'm assuming you want to send us into the base, right?" Ryu asked the Soldier.

"Well the Turks are suppose to be the best at what they do, right?" Essai asked him. "But you're not going alone. Zack, Kunsel, Roy, Duke, Cloud, and Zhane will accompany you and wait on the surface." then Essai pointed at the main rode to the south. "Sebastian and I will lead the main force through here and start an attack on the base as soon as we reach it. Avalanche will have to respond and they will send their army out to confront us." then he pointed at Zack. "That's when you and the others attack Avalanche from behind. With us at the front and you from the back, we can crush their army while they try and figure out what's going on."

"And while we're fighting on top, the Turks can kill Fuhito and gather any intelligence that they can find." Sebastian said.

"It sounds like a solid plan." Zack said after a moment. "But will it be as simple as you say?"

"Lets hope so." Essai said. "Either way, we don't have a lot of time. Fuhito mentioned that they were abandoning that base in four days. That was three days ago. We have 24hrs to locate the base and exterminate them."

"Very well. For now, go rest and prepare for the battle ahead. We will leave at 0600 hours." Bethany said. "Dismissed."

**End of chapter.**

Well what did you think? I thought that Zhane's joke in the beginning was a good one. Though some might think it messed up. This chapter serves to show that Zhane is a bit of a prankster. He loves a good laugh. Also it shows that Cloud, while still a bit shy, can and will speak his mind when he feels that he has too.

Also I introduced 5 of the 7 Turks for this mission. In the next chapter, the 6th Turk will be introduced and in chapter five, the 7th one will be introduced. There are like 15 or 20 Turks in all I think. And I plan to use them all at one point or another. Also if you're wondering, Aeris will be showing up after this mission is done. I figured that she had to be seen at one point or another. Well I think that's it for now. Till next time.


	4. Sparring

**I don't own FF7!**

**Hello and welcome to the next chapter of Soldier. This chapter is really more of a filler chapter than anything. It explains a little about how Soldier prepare for their missions and how they are assigned Materia and what not. Then it focuses a bit on Zhane and his ability to get himself into strange situations. **

**In the next chapter, the mission will begin and Zack, Cloud, and Zhane will find themselves pitted against the best Avalanche has to offer. Will Zack be able to protect his friends? All that and more will be revealed in the next chapter. **

**For now, enjoy!**

**Soldier **

**Chapter 4: Sparring**

Cloud followed Zack as he led him and the rest of the Soldiers to their break room. Well it wasn't really a break room so much as a place for Soldier members to come and have some privacy from the rest of the base.

Zhane had been talking to Kunsel, the two debating about the proper use of Magic and Sword. But from what Cloud could gather, Zhane was being school by the veteran Soldier.

"Alright guys, time to do a supply check." Zack said as he closed the door behind them. "Pull out what supplies you have and get ready to be inspected."

Doing as he was told, Cloud walked over to the table in the center of the room and stood beside Zhane. He unhooked his sword from the magnet that held it in place and set it on the table. Next came his First Aid kit which was placed within a pouch that they wore on their belts. The pouch was small, about four inches in length, an inch and a half wide, and shaped to resemble a rectangle. Within, Cloud had placed the supplies that he had been given upon become a Third.

"Alright, Zhane, we'll start with you. What do you have in your Item bag?" Zack asked him as everyone else finished placing their supplies on the table.

"I have 20 potion capsules, 5 remedy pills, 5 ether and soma capsules." Zhane said as he pulled out the items from his pouch.

The Potion Capsules were small marble sized plastic spheres that held a spoonful of Potion juice. While not as powerful as a full bottle of potion, it was enough to allow the Soldier member to keep on fighting when things got tough. One would simply have to pop one into his mouth, break the seal, and instantly feel the healing effects of the potion. They were designed by Shinra scientists to have the same effects as regular potions but be convenient enough to carry and not be slowed down.

The Remedy spills were also created by Shinra scientists. They were an herbal remedy made from various herbs that could cure any ailment. The pills were small, almost a quarter of the size of the Potion Capsules. They were convenient enough to carry and easy to produce so Shinra began issuing them to Soldier.

The Ether and Soma Capsules were similar to the Potion capsules but their effects were different. Instead of healing the user, they restored the user's Mana(ether) and stamina(soma). Mana was used for magic, draining the user mentally while soma restored the user's stamina, which was drained through combat, similar to that of an adrenaline shot.

"Alright, you have the basic supplies. But if I were you, I'd buy some more ether and potions. You're gonna need them." Zack said before turning to Cloud. "You're up, buddy, what'cha got?"

"I have 20 potion capsules, 5 remedy, 5 ether, and 5 soma." Cloud said, pulling out the same items as Zhane.

"Good. Its nice to see that Shinra is still taking care of the new Soldiers." Zack said with a nod. "Now what Materia do you two have?"

"I only have four." Cloud said.

"Same here." Zhane added.

"You're only suppose to have four." Kunsel said. "Four is the limit for Seconds and below. Shinra believes that with only four, its maximizes your efficiency in battle without tiring yourselves too much."

"So that's the reason why? I thought it was because Shinra was cheap." Zhane said, earning a chuckle from Zack.

"Well that's probably true as well." Zack said. "Anyways, which ones you got?"

"I was given Fire, Barrier, Haste, Regen." Zhane said as he pulled out the four Materia from his pouch.

"You got Barrier and Regen?" Kunsel asked, sounding impressed.

"Yea, why? Is there something wrong with them?" Zhane asked, feeling somewhat confused. "The guys who gave it to me said that they were good."

"There's nothing wrong but…" Kunsel began before drifting off.

"They only give that kind of Materia to the top five Soldier graduates." Roy said, seemingly gaining more respect for the new recruit. "What rank did you get by the way?"

"Rank? I got fifth. Cloud here got fourth." Zhane said.

"Impressive…" Duke said.

"I'll say, I barely made it to 8th." Kunsel said. "Though I did come in first when it came to intelligence gathering."

"What rank did you get, Zack?" Cloud asked his friend.

"I got first, of course!" Zack proclaimed proudly.

"Really?" Zhane asked him.

"Its true…" Sebastian said.

"We got 2nd and 3rd, right behind Zack." Essai said.

"Wow…" Zhane said, gaining an excited gleam in his eyes. "So if I train and go on mission with you guys, I'll reach First in no time!"

"Hold your horses there, kid. You still have a long way to go if you hope to become a first." Duke said. "After all, there have only ever been four First Class Soldiers and the last one is here with us."

"Anyways, what Materia did you get Cloud?" Zack asked him before Zhane could speak again.

"I got Thunder, Fire, Cure, and Esuna." Cloud said, pulling out his own Materia.

"Interesting…" Kunsel said after a moment. "I think that Shinra planned to keep the two of you together while on missions."

"What makes you say that?" Zhane asked.

"Well the type of Materia you both have can work great together if you team up." Zack explained. "Zhane, with Haste, Regen, and Barrier, you can act as the main attacker of the group while Cloud can heal you."

"Not just that but you can also cast those same spells on Cloud and make him powerful enough to fight on his own for a while." Kunsel added.

"Wow, that's so cool! Hear that Cloud? We're gonna be an awesome team!" Zhane said, excitement growing within him.

"But this is all speculation on our part." Zack said, bursting Zhane's bubble. "You two might also be separated and made to work on solo missions."

"Well that sucks…" Zhane said with a hint of sadness in his tone.

"Alright guys listen up. We have 12 hours before the operation begins. I want you to take that time to either prepare or rest. Since this is a big mission, I want you to be at your best when we leave." Zack announced, his tone full of authority. Then as Zhane raised his hand, Zack quickly added. "And no sparring between Soldier members until after the mission is over."

"Ah man…" Zhane muttered gloomily. "What am I suppose to do now?"

"I don't know…why don't you go and explore the base? Maybe you will find the mess hall and get some grub." Zack suggested.

"Alright, I'll be back later. don't tell any embarrassing stories without me." Zhane said as he headed out. He left his supplies and sword behind, knowing that he wouldn't be needing them while in the base. He also left his helmet, allowing himself to let his hair lose. He had always liked his hair, it was dark blue and it was always messy. At least that's what Cloud always said but Cloud's hair was always messy too.

As he walked through the corridors of the base, Zhane thought about his brothers and sisters. While Davis and Ken were in Soldier, they still had several younger brothers and sisters who depended on them back in Midgar. When this mission was over, he would make sure to go and visit them.

"Where do you think you're going, Soldier?" a stern voice called out, bringing Zhane back from his thoughts.

"Huh?" looking up, Zhane saw that it had been a woman from the Turks that had spoken. She was as tall as he was, at about 6ft, with long grayish-brown hair and brown eyes. Her body was thin and graceful, with curves in all the right places. She wore the standard black suit that all Turk members wore along with a pair of plated black fingerless gloves. "Oh, I'm just looking around."

"Are you now?" the Turk asked him, eyeing him suspiciously. "Care to tell me what exactly you're looking for?"

"Actually, I think I found her…" Zhane said, giving her confident grin. "Hmp, sorry kid, but you're just not worth my time." the woman said, dismissing Zhane's attempt at a pick up line.

"Well what does a guy have to do to be worth you time?" Zhane asked her.

"You really want to know?" she asked him.

"Yup. I really do."

"Well for one thing, you have to be able to keep up with me." the Turk said.

"That'll be easy, I am in Soldier you know." Zhane said confidently.

"That means nothing to me. Soldier, Infantry, men are all the same." The Turk said as she placed her index finger below his chin. Tilting his head slightly, she eyed him a bit more closely before speaking once more. "You however I've yet to decide…"

"Is that a good thing?" he asked.

"We shall see…another thing you must be is skillful…" The Turk continued. "After all, if you're not able to handle yourself then what hopes of satisfying me will you have? And I'm not the type of person you'd want to disappoint…"

"What happens if I do end up disappointing you?" Zhane asked, feeling his confidence waver slightly. "Hypothetically of course."

"I'd beat you within an inch of your life or until I'm satisfied." she said simply, making Zhane sweat a bit. Seeing that she had unnerved him slightly, she smirked before saying. "Shall we?"

"Shall we what?" he asked, no longer sure of what he had gotten himself into.

"See if you can satisfy me of course." she said with a sweet but dangerous smile.

(/_\)(￣ー￣)(/_\)

Zhane grunted, his breath caught in his mouth as he hissed in pain. Nails dug into his back as he felt a pair of strong legs wrap themselves around his waist. His partner, the Turk member he had met moments ago, pressed her chest against his, smirking at their current intimate position.

Zhane had no idea how he had agreed to this but one thing was for sure. This was not what he had expected.

With a yell, the Turk leaned all the way back, planting both her hands on the ground and using her legs to toss Zhane into the air. Then without skipping a beat, she pushed off the ground with her hands and flipped once to face him in mid air.

Zhane flipped as well to steady himself but to his surprise, she appeared in front of him. With practiced ease, she spun around and delivered a round house kick. Zhane brought his arms back and blocked the kick but the impact sent them both back toward the ground.

Panting, Zhane kept his eye on the fighting beauty as she stood ready in her stance. She had changed from her Turk uniform to a black sports bra and black biker shorts. Her hair was kept untied so it weaved around behind her as she moved. Zhane simply took off his shirt and armor, fighting only with his pants on. She had brought him to this training room in order to spar against him and see if he could keep up with her. While it wasn't the kind of physical activity that he had in mind, he was enjoying himself none the less.

"Hey…I just realized something…" Zhane said, taking advantage of the momentary pause. "I don't even know your name."

"Well since you've proven to be able to keep up with me…I guess I can tell you my name…" the Turk said with a playful tone. "My name is Tomoyo."

"Tomoyo huh? What a pretty name." Zhane said, giving playful grin. "If this is what I have to go through in order to get your name, I'd hate to see what I have to do in order to ask you for your number."

"It actually involves chains." Tomoyo said with a smirk.

Tomoyo lunged at Zhane, crossing the distance between them in a single bound. Zhane caught her fist with his left hand and swung her over his shoulder. She flipped once before landing on her feet. Not only was she beautiful but she was also a master martial artist. Zhane had taken a beating at first, barely able to keep up with her. But as the spar progressed, Zhane had been able to memorize her attack pattern and had been able to see her attacks coming.

Feeling confident, Zhane charged at Tomoyo, striking hard and fast, aiming to knock her of balance. But Tomoyo simply blocked his palm strikes with ease. Hoping to catch her off guard, Zhane spun around, dropping down to a crouch, and sweeping his leg out in a sweep kick. But Zhane was met with an empty spot as Tomoyo leaped up at the same time. When he saw her, she was just finishing a spin and her foot connected with the side of his head, knocking him back several yards.

He came to a stop next to the wall of the training room. Shaking his head, he looked up in time to see Tomoyo coming for him. He rose to one knee, blocking her punch. Then he grabbed her wrist and twisted it. But she reached down and grabbed his nose. She twisted it and made him release her wrist. Then she unleashed a barrage of punches into his chest, making a small dent in the wall.

Stepping back, Zhane fell to the ground as Tomoyo whipped her hair back in place. Zhane coughed in pain as he felt his chest burn. Tomoyo sure hadn't pulled any of her punches in that last attack and Zhane had felt it.

"Well it looks like I win." she said simply. "Sorry kid, looks like you're just not worth my time." Tomoyo then turned around and was about to start walking away when she felt a hand grab her ankle.

"I'm…not…done…yet…" Zhane breathed out as he slowly rose to his feet.

"You have guts, kid, I'll give you that." Tomoyo said as she eyed the young Soldier. "But you're done…I struck several chakra points, shutting down the muscles in your arms."

"Is that…" Zhane said. He rose to full height and with a large amount of effort, he flexed his arms and raised them above his head in a show of force. "Right?"

"Impressive…no one's ever been able to do that before…" Tomoyo said, sounding impressed. "Perhaps you might just be worth my time after all."

"heh…" Zhane might've put on an impressive display but it had taken a lot of out him just to get his arms moving again. He was tired and in pain and he knew that it was pure stubbornness that allowed him to push past the pain he felt as he forced his arms to move again.

Motioning for Tomoyo to attack, Zhane stood in a defensive stance as he waited for her to make her move. She did just that by leaping through the air, twisting in mid air, adding speed and power to her round house kick. But Zhane saw her coming and ducked under her kick. He came up and caught her around the waist, grinning as his face ended up mere inches from her chest. She looked down at him and saw where his eyes were on. But before she could retaliate, Zhane raised her up before slamming her down on the matted floor.

While she was dazed, Zhane straddled her waist and pinned bother her arms above her head with a single hand. Using his right to steady himself, Zhane stared down at Tomoyo's face. Her dazed look was soon lost and her eyes focused on his.

Smirking, Zhane leaned down until his head inches above hers. "I win."

"It appears so." Tomoyo agreed.

"So am I worth your time now?" Zhane asked her.

"Come closer…" she whispered.

Her tone had changed, it was softer, enticing. He leaned in, feeling her warm breath on his lips. Slowly and deliberately, she raised herself to meet him halfway, stopping mere centimeters from his lips. Gulping, Zhane stared transfixed on her eyes, her dark, mysterious eyes. They held a power over him that he could not fight, that he did not want to fight. Then it happened, she closed the distance between them and placed her lips on his. Closing his eyes, Zhane gave into the kiss, relaxing his hold on the woman below him.

Then without warning, Zhane found himself lying on his back with Tomoyo straddling his waist and his arms pinned above his head. She gave him a victorious smirk before leaning down.

"I win." she stated.

"You cheated." Zhane said, though he didn't mind in the slightest that he lost.

"All's fair in love and war, kid." Tomoyo said as she stood up. "Besides, you might just be worth my time after all."

"This was fun…" Zhane said as she helped him up. "We should do it again some time."

"I have a better idea…" Tomoyo said, giving him a mischievous grin.

**End of chapter.**

Well what did you think? As you can probably tell, Zhane has no real talent when it comes to talking to the ladies. He does however, have dumb luck. As to what happens with Tomoyo and Zhane next, you decide. I'm leaving it open for you're imagination. I, for one, will not say anything at this time.

Well till next time.


	5. Mission Start

**I don't own FF7. **

**Hello and welcome to another chapter of Soldier. Well as promised, this chapter marks the beginning of the mission. Cloud and Zhane will be going on their first mission with Zack as their leader. Will they be able to survive the dangers that Soldier missions present or will it prove to be too much for them? **

**Enjoy.**

**Soldier **

**Chapter 5: Mission Start**

Cloud walked alongside Zack, both of them leading the group as the traveled up the mountain trail. Being from back water towns, they were use to hiking and didn't get as tired as the rest of the group.

"So Cloud, how come you're not shivering in this cold?" Zack asked his friend, noticing that Cloud hardly seemed bothered by the cold weather.

"I'm used to it." Cloud said with a shrug. "Back home, I used to climb Mt. Nibel all the time. Since its always cold there, I just got used to it, I guess."

"Mt. Nibel, that's next to Nibelheim, right?" Zack asked. "Tell me more about your home town."

"Well Nibelheim is a small town out in the middle of nowhere…there's not a whole lot of people there and the ones there are all nice." Cloud said. "Though there are some guys there that act pretty idiotic."

"Like who?" Zack asked.

"Well, there's these three idiots that always hang around this girl I know. Her name's Tifa. She lives next door to my house." Cloud said.

"Tifa, huh? Is she like your girlfriend?" Zack asked him, teasing the younger boy slightly.

"What? No, she's not my girlfriend." Cloud said defensively, his cheeks sporting a rosy blush. Though Zack couldn't tell if it was because of the cold or not. "She's not even my friend…"

"Ouch…sorry pal." Zack said, feeling bad for him.

"Its okay…its not like it matters too much…I didn't really know her that well." Cloud said with a shrug.

"But?" Zack asked him.

"But what?"

"there's a story in there, isn't there?" Zack asked, giving him a knowing look.

"Well…kind of…" Cloud said slowly. "While Tifa and I weren't that close, I did want us to be. I was never part of her group of friends…every time that I tried to get closer to them, I'd either get ignored or picked on."

"That must've sucked." Zack said.

"It did. And because of that, I always resented them for it…I began seeing them as idiots and childish. that's how they acted toward me…pretending that I wasn't there or making fun of me." Cloud said. "As this went on, I began to think that I was different…that I was better than them. I wasn't like them…I didn't act stupid, I didn't fool around. I was serious…despite being just a kid…"

"Then one day when we were 8, Tifa's mother died…" Cloud's tone changed to one that held great sorrow. "For some reason, she and her three friends decided to climb Mt. Nibel. I had done it plenty of times before and I knew that they would be in trouble since they had never gone up past the bridge."

"I'm guessing this is the part where something bad happened?" Zack asked, somehow knowing that something bad happened.

"Bad isn't the word I'd use…" Cloud said with a sigh. "I followed them, knowing that the three stooges would desert her once she reached the bridge. By the time I caught up with her, all of her friends had abandoned her. I ran after her once I saw that she was halfway across. But something happened…I don't really know what it was but a large monster flew overhead and as it passed, the wind picked up and it made the rope bride tossed us overboard before I could reach her."

"You were thrown off of the bridge?" Zack asked, not believing his friend's story. "How did you survive?"

"It wasn't easy, if that's what you think." Cloud said, recalling that day. "As we fell, the wind carried us against the mountain's side. I grabbed Tifa around the waist and I tried to hold on to something. I managed to grabbed onto a dead branch but it snapped. The branch swung us against the side and we landed on a ledge."

"You landed on a ledge? Man you are seriously one lucky guy." Zack said, sounding impressed. "But how'd you survive?" "Well, when the branch broke, I lost my grip on Tifa and she fell. She tumbled down the side of the mountain until she hit the ledge. I fell too but I only scrapped my knees." Cloud explained.

"You only scrapped your knees? How?" Zack asked, raising an eyebrow.

"I don't know…I know that I hit the wall hard…I blacked out for a moment as I tumbled down…" Cloud said, sounding unsure himself. "when I came too, I was lying on my back and I felt…fine…No cuts, no bruises, nothing more than scrapped knees. But before I woke up, two adults from town had managed to find us and took Tifa back while I was left behind."

"They just left you there?" Zack asked.

"Yea…they blamed me for Tifa's injures…they said it was my fault she got hurt." Cloud continued. "Despite the fact that I knew it wasn't my fault and that I was only trying to help, I still blamed myself. I couldn't protect her and I hated myself for that. I hated that I was too weak to do anything. To make it worse, her father forbade me from ever seeing her again."

"That's kind of harsh." Zack said.

"It was a long time ago…" Cloud said, dismissing his friend. "Anyways, what can you tell me about yourself? Any special girl in your life?"

"Actually, I have a girlfriend." Zack said, accepting Cloud's wish to change the subject. "her name's Aeris and I have to tell you, there's no other girl like her."

"What do you mean?" Cloud asked, intrigued by his friend's statement.

"Well she's real, you know? She doesn't act fake or with ulterior motives like some of the people we deal with on a daily basis. When I'm with her, I can be myself and she accepts and actually enjoys that part of me." Zack began to explain. His eyes grew distant as his memories replayed themselves in his mind. "I can honestly say that I'm in love with her…"

"How did you know that you were in love with her?" Cloud asked him.

This brought Zack's eyes back to the blond beside him. "I don't know if you know this but my mentor and friend, Angeal, died a month ago…I was forced to fight and kill him with my own two hands."

As Cloud listened to his friend's story, he remained silent, trying to imagine what it would be like to experience what Zack went through. He honestly didn't know to know what it would be like since that would mean to have to fight and kill Zack. He definitely didn't want to do that. Well, it looked like he couldn't relate to what his friend had gone through after all.

"I felt like…everything I had known…everything I had done…" Zack continued, unaware of his friend's thoughts. "I wondered if it had all been worth it, if it had all been for nothing. I felt lost…its feeling that I'd never felt before…but it was more than that…I felt a great pain, one that was slowly tearing me apart." Zack then motioned to his chest before continuing. "I was depressed…for the first time in my life, I felt like giving up…" then a warm smile graced his lips, one of genuine joy. "Then without saying a word, Aeris placed her arms around me and just held me."

"She held you?" Cloud repeated.

"She held me." Zack nodded. His smile still present, he continued his tale. "It was just what I needed. Her touch calmed my heart and eased my pain. And because of that, I know that she's the one."

"Wow…she sounds incredible." Cloud said.

"She is." Zack said.

While Cloud and Zack led the group, Zhane walked alongside the rest of the party. Kunsel walked with Bethany, discussing the mission logistics and some other boring things that Zhane didn't care about. Roy and Duke walked at the end of the group, covering their backs as they claimed. Ahead of Roy and Duke were Ryu and Yamato, the two Turk members from the briefing. Zhane had tried making small talk with the two but neither of them wanted talk to him more than necessary. They claimed that they didn't want associate with low rank Soldiers.

Cissnei and Rikku walked ahead of him, the two of them talking to the new Turk that had joined them. Zhane had met him and honestly, he liked the Turk most of all. His name was Tamaki and he was as sweet as honey. Tamaki was a small guy, about as tall as Cloud. He even had the same color hair, though his blond hair was well groomed unlike Cloud's spiky unkempt hair. And speaking of honey, that was actually his nickname as Zhane came to learn.

Zhane quickly found out that Tamaki, or Honey, loved to talk. The only reason he wasn't walking beside the three of them was that Zhane needed a break from him. He liked the Turk member, they even exchanged phone numbers to keep in touch. But the reason he wanted a break from talking with Tamaki was because he wanted to talk to Tomoyo. She was walking beside him in comfortable silence. They had agreed keep their new friendship casual. She admitted that he was worth her time and that she would like to continue sparring against him.

Zhane found himself being attracted to the older woman. Sure, he was still a teenager but she didn't seem to care. Last night had been one of great pain and just as much fun. He had never met someone like her. He had asked her to teach him how to improve his fighting style and she had promised to show him some moves after their mission was done.

"Hey Zhane, what do you think is best? Cake or Pie?" Tamaki asked. The blond had turned from his two companions to face him and Tomoyo. His expression seemed to always be happy as he gave the two of them a large friendly smile.

"Personally I prefer Pie, especially Pumpkin Pie." Zhane said, earning an amused smile from the blond.

"Oh please, everyone knows that cake beats pie." Tamaki said. "isn't that right, Tomoyo?"

"He's right, cake trumps pie." Tomoyo agreed.

"you're mistaken, pie is obviously the superior of the two." Rikku said, joining their conversation.

"Well I think that they're both great." Cissnei said with a laugh.

"But you have to pick one." Tamaki and Zhane said at the same. This caused both teens to look at one another before laughing. "Cissnei, what kind of cake do you like?" Tamaki asked once his laughter died down.

"And what kind of pie?" Zhane asked as well.

"Well…I like chocolate cake…and apple pie." Cissnei said after moment. "But I can't decide which one I like most. Both are delicious."

As their conversation progressed into the different types of cakes and pies and their various flavors and tastes, their group soon reached the bridge where their hike would end. Zack and Cloud were already waiting for the rest of the group to arrive and once they did, they crossed the bridge. It was windy and some snow had began to fall as the morning sun continued to rise.

As they crossed the bridge, Cloud heard a howl in the wind. Looking around, he saw that he wasn't the only one to have heard it. Zack was looking ahead of him, at the other side of the bridge. Cloud saw that there was a pair of Ravens standing on the other side. With them were several gray wolves with shaggy brown manes.

"They're behind us as well!" Cloud heard Roy shout.

Turning around, Cloud saw two more Ravens standing on the mouth of the bridge from the side they had just come from. The gray wolves were also with them, their growls menacing and fierce.

"it's a trap!" Ryu said as he pulled out his rod.

"No, we've been betrayed!" Tomoyo said, gaining looks of concern from both Zack and Bethany.

"Are you sure?" Bethany asked her, glancing at her fellow Turk.

"That doesn't matter right now, look!" Zack shouted as he pointed toward the bridge.

Cloud followed Zack's orders and turned to see the end of the bridge. The wolves were running toward them but that wasn't what Zack had seen. Each Raven held them sword, ready to cut the ropes on either side of the bridge. As the wolves neared from both sides, Cloud couldn't help but gulp.

Then Cloud heard someone jump over him and as he looked up, he saw Zhane with his right hand outstretched. It was glowing red as he aimed toward the lead wolf who was also in mid leap. Zhane shot a fire ball from his hand, shouting. "Take that you son of a Bi-"

The rest of Zhane's sentence was cut off as the sound of rushing wind soon filled his ears. The Ravens had cut the ropes and they fell down into the depths of the ravine. The last thing Cloud saw was the fiery explosion from Zhane's attack before he was flung against the side of the ravine by the winds that blew below the bridge.

Zhane's attack sent the lead wolf back but the rest of the pack barreled into him, sending them tumbling down as he tried to fight them off. He tried to reach for his sword but the wolves were snapping and clawing at his face and neck, he could barely fight them off as it was.

As he fell, he saw the pack from the other side of the bridge leap down toward him. Cursing his luck, he smacked on of wolves with his right hand, freeing his left. He made a fist with his left hand before placing it on his chest, casting Barrier on himself. The wolf that had pounced on his chest tried to bite his throat but luckily the Barrier stopped it from reaching. Zhane smashed his fist into its snout and sent it several yards away from him.

Sensing the others below him, Zhane closed both his hands before casting Regen and Haste on himself. With the added speed, Zhane flipped himself around and kicked off the nearest wolf, shooting himself down to his teammates.

The closest one to him was Duke. He was keeping himself steady with his arms and legs spread out. As he came close, Zhane slapped him on the back, casting haste on the older Soldier. Duke gave him a thumbs up before closing his arms and legs and falling into a dive beside Zhane.

Next Zhane cast haste on Roy, earning a nod in thanks. As Zhane neared Ryu and Yamato, he was surprise to see them pull out a grappling gun. They shot it at the mountain side and swung over to safety. All of the Turk members did the same, with Bethany giving Kunsel a hand. Rikku and Tamaki grabbed Roy and Duke from their free fall. Zhane was relieved to see that they would be fine but he noticed that Zack and Cloud weren't among them. that's when he saw Zack diving down toward Cloud's limp form. They were already halfway down and Zhane was at least thirty yards away from them.

As he looked around, he tried to think of a way to help his friends when he noticed Cissnei still falling ahead of him. She turned around and extended her left hand toward him. Instantly he knew what her plan was, or at least he hoped that he did. He dived down and when he neared, he grabbed her hand. She grabbed onto him with both hands and began to spin him around. Once, twice, three times she spun him before releasing him toward the side of the ravine.

Zhane braced himself with his arms as he flew straight at the rough surface, knowing that it would hurt like hell even though he was a Soldier. But to his amazement, his arms stopped an inch _before_ he hit the wall. Then right before his eyes, he saw the barrier effect still active from his earlier spell. The Barrier formed around his arms as he began to slide down the inclined side of the ravine. He still felt pain, that much he knew. But he could also feel the healing effects of the Regen spell he had cast before.

Smirking, he pushed off before flipping once and landing on his feet. Using his hands to steady himself, Zhane took full advantage of the Barrier spell and used its protection to grind down the side of the ravine. The barrier would protect him from the worst of the slide while his Haste spell maximized his speed.

As Zhane sped down toward his friends, Zack had reached Cloud and had held on to the unconscious blond. Then from the corner of his eye, Zack saw Zhane race down the side of the Ravine to reach them. Smiling, Zack began to angle himself to fall toward his friend. They were in a literal race against time. Closer and closer Zack and Cloud came to becoming pancakes on the ground below. Zhane tried his best to speed up but he had reached his limit. He couldn't caste any spells either since all his were already active on himself.

They were a hundred feet away from reaching the bottom. Zack was getting closer to Zhane but they both knew that they wouldn't reach each other in time. Noticing the desperate look in Zack's eyes, Zhane could tell that Zack was going to throw Cloud toward him and save their friend. But Zhane wasn't about to let either of them die.

At 80 feet, Zhane did the only thing he could do. He jumped up, canceled the barrier spell, and allowed himself to touch the surface of the ravine. The moment he touched the surface, he pushed off with all his strength, grunting from the pain he felt because of the speed he was attempting his stunt at, and leaped toward his friends. As he flew toward his friends, Zhane prepared himself to cast two spells. In his left, he held the Barrier spell ready. In his right, he held the Fire spell ready.

Zack noticed what his friend was up to and shielded Cloud from the incoming attack. Zhane slammed both hands into Zack's back, resulting in an explosion from the fire ball he shot at point blank, sending them both flying in opposite directions. Zhane hit the wall and began to tumble down the side of the ravine, getting scrapped up and bruised as he fell. As he neared the bottom of the ravine, Zhane hit a rock that was poking out and was sent into the air before landing on his back hard. Zack hit the opposite wall and was surprised to see that he and Cloud slid down the wall toward the ground.

The last thing Zhane saw before darkness claimed him was Zack bent over him, shouting something inaudible.

**End of chapter. **

What did you think? Their first mission seems to be much harder than they anticipated. Now both Zhane and Cloud are knocked out and Zhane might be hurt. In the next chapter, there will be fight scene worthy of Soldier. Or at least I'll try and make it worthy of Soldier.

Well hope you enjoyed this chapter. Till next time.


	6. Job To Do

**I don't own FF7. **

**Wow, its been a while since I last been on FF much less updated one of my stories. Life has been hectic as of late and I've been busy writing my own story, one that I hope to publish once its done. While I work on my story, this story and the others I have going on will be taking a back seat for the time being. I will try and update them when I can but don't expect regular posts. I think once a month I'll update. **

**Now that I think about it, I have a lot of catching up to do. I have to catch up on "The Difference One Life Makes" by Irish-Brigid, it was just getting good when I last read it. Enjoy. **

**Soldier **

**Chapter 6: Job To Do**

Zack looked up just in time to move Zhane out of the way of a falling wolf. All around him, wolves fell, landing on their feet nimbly and gracefully. They appeared to be fine and they were all growling in his direction.

"So you guys want to fight, huh?" Zack asked them. He placed Zhane down beside Cloud and pulled out his Buster Sword. "Well come at me then!"

The first wolf leaped at Zack, aiming for his chest but Zack simply grinned as he planted his left fist into it's snout. The shot to the nose sent the wolf flying into another wolf, knocking them both down. From behind, two wolves leaped at him and Zhane spun around and smacked them with the side of his sword, knocking both of them out cold. Two more wolves tried to pounce on Zack but he knocked them out with a single swing of his blade.

Zack's grin though was short lived as the lead wolf, the one that Zhane had burnt earlier, stood before him. With a furious howl, the wolves that Zack had knocked out earlier quickly rose up once more. With another bark, all six wolves charged at once as the lead wolf watched them.

Having no choice, Zack gripped his blade hard before swinging it in a circle, slicing all the wolves in half. Then, as he came to a stop, he glared at the lead wolf before charging at him. The wolf mirrored him and the two clashed in the air, both aiming to finish the other off. But while the leader was the most experienced wolf of the pact, Zack was in Soldier. Plus the barrier that Zhane had cast on him earlier didn't hurt either. Zack sliced through the wolf right down the middle, covering him in fresh blood as he did.

"Well that takes care of that." Zack muttered to himself as he wiped the blood of his sword with a rag. He didn't like using the Buster Sword to kill, after all use brought on wear, tear, and rust.

"Zack!"

Looking up, Zack watched as Kunsel and the rest of the group climbed down from the side of the ravine. While they climbed down, Zack rushed over to Zhane and Cloud, inspecting them for injuries. Cloud seemed fine, just a bump on his head. But Zhane looked like he fell off a cliff. Well, he kind of did. But the point was that he looked really hurt. But before Zack could cast cure or even apply any potions, Zhane's injuries seemed to heal right before Zack's eyes.

"That jerk! Making me worry over nothing!" Zack exclaimed happily as realization hit him. Zhane must've cast Regen on himself before or during the fall. Sighing with relief, Zack helped things along by casting Cure on both his friends while he waited for the others to reach them.

After the rest of the group rejoined with Zack, they quickly moved the two unconscious Soldiers and found a cave to rest in. Cissnei examined both teens for any injuries that couldn't be healed magically while the others discussed their current situation.

"We've been betrayed." Tomoyo stated, not bothering to hide her anger.

"What makes you think that? For you all we know, they expected us to be there." Zack said, not liking the one in her voice.

"The enemy was expecting us to be there because we were set up." Tomoyo said, her eyes narrowing dangerously at Zack.

"Look, we don't know that we were betrayed." Kunsel said, trying to calm the two. "After all, its not unlikely that the enemy could've thought of this on their own. Didn't Sebastian and Essai mention that Avalanche's leader was a brilliant strategist? He could've easily deduced which course of action we'd take and set up a trap."

"I don't believe in coincidences." Tomoyo said. She was still angry but she had calmed down somewhat thanks to Kunsel's reasoning.

"I don't believe in coincidences either." Bethany stated, getting the attention of everyone. "We have a traitor in our midst…and that traitor is obviously in Soldier."

"Now wait just a minute!" Zack said, showing a rare case of anger. "No one in Soldier would ever betray his comrades!"

"Oh yea? Then what about Genesis?" Ryu asked. His tone was calm but Zack could tell that he was on edge. They all were.

"Genesis was different, he was suffering from the degradation process." Zack shot back.

"Listen, both Sebastian and Essai were prisoners of Avalanche for several weeks before we could retrieve them." Bethany said, her tone even. "During that time, they could've been brainwashed and turned against us."

"It was their plan to send us, the strongest members of Shinra, away from the main army." Yamato pointed out.

"And they wanted to lead the main force on their own instead of coming with us." Rikku added.

"And now we're at the bottom of a ravine with no way of reaching the base or contacting the main force to warn them of an impending ambush." Tamaki said, his usual happy demeanor missing from his face.

"Alright, we get it." Roy said, having heard enough from them. "There's a strong possibility that Sebastian and Essai are traitors."

"But we can't just jump to conclusions." Duke added. "They are innocent until proven guilty."

"Alright, now that you're all done arguing, we can decide what our next move is going to be." Cissnei said as she stood up from her kneeling position beside Zhane. "Two of our teammates are down and we're stranded on the bottom of a ravine. We need a plan."

"Well we have to fall back." Kunsel said as if it were obvious.

"You fall back. Turks don't quit a job just cause the odds aren't in our favor." Ryu said, not liking Kunsel's suggestion.

"Soldier doesn't back down either." Zack said, glaring at the Turk. "We'll continue the mission."

"What about them?" Tamaki asked, pointing toward Zhane and Cloud.

"I'll carry them." Zack said as he stood up.

"I'll help you." Kunsel offered.

"Is there anything wrong with them?" Zack asked Cissnei as he neared them.

"Cloud is fine. He should wake up in a few hours." Cissnei informed him. "But as for Zhane…he broke his left wrist when he hit the ground. Thanks to the Regen spell, the injury began to heal almost instantly but its going to take some time to fully heal. As it is right now, the bone is fractured and its healing. I've set it and put a splint as you can see. But he can't fight or he risks never using that hand again."

"Is there any nerve damage?" Kunsel asked her.

"I'm not sure. We won't know the extent of the damage until we can get him to the medic bay back on the base." Cissnei explained. "Until he wakes up, we won't know if he can even move it anymore."

"Anything else?" Zack asked, still trying to process the information he was just given. Even for members of Soldiers, falling over 80ft down the side of a mountain and landing hard on the ground was not something they could simple walk off. To suffer an injury like that could affect his status as Soldier. Hopefully though, Zhane would recover without any complications.

"He's also fractured two of his ribs but those are healing thanks to the spell." Cissnei told him. "aside from that, all his other cuts and bruises have already healed or are still healing. As to when he will wake up, that's up to him."

"Damn…" Zack usually didn't curse but for this to happen on their first mission, it just didn't seem right. Could the Turks be right? Could Sebastian and Essai have betrayed them? If they did, then they would pay for doing this to Zhane.

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Several hours later, Zack led the group through a trail that was probably used by the wild animals and various monsters that lived there to climb up the ravine. The Soldiers and the Turks were walking in separate groups, the argument from earlier showing the clear distrust between them. Only Cissnei walked alongside the Soldiers, talking to them as if nothing were going on.

The trip alone was treacherous since the trail was suited for animals and not humans. It was narrow and there were places where they had to jump in order to reach the next part of the path. For Soldiers, it was no big deal. But for the Turks, it was a bit harder. Still, they managed to climb up.

As they reached the top, Cloud began to stir. When he woke up, he asked them what had happened. While he was surprised to still be alive, he was worried about his friend. Still, Zack carried Zhane on his back while the others fallowed. Once they reached the top, they took a path that would lead them toward the route that the main army had taken. Hopefully, they would be able to make in it time to stop them.

During the walk, Zack filled Cloud in on what had happened between the two groups. It was clear that the Turks didn't trust the Soldier members and the Soldier members were keeping an eye on the Turks in case they decided to turn on them. It was a horrible situation to be in at the moment but Zack told Cloud not to worry. They would soon reach the main army and everything would be settled.

It took them most of the day to reach the bottom of the mountain where the main force would begin their trek up the mountain to attack the base. But even before they reached the location, they could already see smoke rising up in the distance. This prompted them all to begin running toward the smoke as fast they could.

No one spoke as they made their way toward the spot, all of them thinking the same thing. Zack was praying with everything that he had that it wasn't what he thought it was. But all his praying had been in vain as he laid eyes on the gruesome sight. The large battalion that they had sent had been destroyed. Bodies laid everywhere and all their vehicles and artillery had been destroyed. It had been a massacre.

"…No…" was all that came out of Zack's mouth as he took in the scene before him. Sebastian and Essai had betrayed them.

"I was right, they did betray us." Tomoyo said as she looked at the battlefield. "It looks like we were too late."

"Spread out, look for any survivors." Bethany ordered. She was already on the move, not waiting to see if the members of Soldier would bother to listen to her. She knew the Turks would do as she said.

"Zack?" Cloud asked his friend. He didn't know what to make of the current situation. It seemed like his first mission had been a colossal failure. Not only were they led into a trap by members of Soldier but they also failed to protect the Shinra Infantry that were deployed in that area.

"Listen, I know that it might not be easy to accept…" Duke began, placing a hand on Zack's free shoulder. "But as Soldier, its our duty to hunt down Sebastian and Essai and take them out. They no longer have their Soldier Honor."

"He's right." Roy said. "We'll scout ahead, maybe we can follow their trail. Once we find this base, we'll come back and get you."

"Alright…" Zack said after a moment. "We'll stay with the Turks and follow at our own pace."

With a nod, both Roy and Duke left their group and headed toward the direction that the base was suppose to be. Meanwhile, Kunsel was looking around, picking up random parts of shrapnel and examining them.

Curious, Cloud walked over to the Second. "What are you doing?" he asked.

"Look at this here…" Kunsel said, showing him the metal piece. "What do you see?"

"…it looks burnt…" Cloud said after examining it.

"Yes, but look at the scorch marks…see how they look as if they were warped?" Kunsel asked.

"Yea…"

"I think that Sebastian and Essai must've used a Gravity Materia." Kunsel said, dropping the piece of metal. "If they have one, then fighting them won't be easy."

"Gravity Materia is supposed to be hard to come by, isn't it?" Cloud asked, remembering what he had been told back in basic training.

"Yea, its extremely powerful and rare. Few have it and fewer still know how to use it to its full power." Kunsel said. "Shinra doesn't normally allow Soldier members to use that Materia unless they reach 1rst."

"I remember that to beat someone with Gravity Materia, you have to be faster than them." Cloud said, thinking back on his studies on Materia magic. "Cause if they hit, you take great damage."

"That's true. There are several monsters who can cast Gravity magic. I've fought against a few and it was no picnic." Kunsel said, sharing his experience with the younger Soldier. "The first time I was hit with it, I felt like I was going to die. It hurt so much, I almost blacked out. The trick is to harden your mind and block out the pain."

"Hey you guys, Zhane's waking up."

Hearing Zack call them, Kunsel and Cloud made their way over to the 1rst. Zack had placed Zhane down on the ground where the previous battle had melted the snow. Zhane was slowly stirring, groaning as he began to regain consciousness.

"Zhane? Can you hear me?" Zack asked.

"mmmm…man…what happened…?" Zhane slowly asked as he opened his eyes. "Why do I feel like I fell off of a cliff?"

"Well…you kind of did…" Cloud said, chuckling at bit at his friend's question. "Though, it was more of a mountain."

"Zhane, can you feel anything?" Kunsel asked him.

"Yea…I feel like crap…" Zhane grumbled as he tried to sit up. But as he tried to move his left hand, he immediately shouted in pain. "What the hell? What happened to my hand?"

"You broke your wrist." Kunsel informed him. "Cissnei bandaged your wrist but there's no telling the extent of the damage until we get you to a doctor."

"Luckily, the Regen spell you cast earlier started healing you immediately." Zack told him. "Cissnei said that the bone started healing but that you shouldn't try to move it until it completely heals."

"What about nerve damage? Did she say anything about that?" Zhane asked them, wincing as he tried to keep it steady. He didn't risk trying to move it for fear of making it worse.

"We won't know until we can get you to the doctor or your bone heals." Kunsel said. "Once the bone heals, we can see if you can still even move your wrist."

"For now, just sit still while we inform the Turks about your awakening." Zack said. "After that, we'll head back to the base and get you checked out. You're part in this mission is over."

"What? But that's not fair! I can still fight!" Zhane argued but Zack wouldn't have it.

"No. You're not fit for duty, Zhane." Zack said sternly. "The mission has already been compromised enough. We have a job to do and we can't be distracted while we do it. I'm sorry but you'd only get in the way at this point."

"But-"

"No buts. I'm you're commanding officer and you will do as I say." Zack said, leaving no room for arguments. "Cloud, I want you to escort him back to the base. Then I want you to send a message to Director Lazard and let him know about Sebastian and Essai. Tell him everything."

"Sebastian and Essai? What happened to them?" Zhane asked.

"I'll tell you on the way back." Cloud said as he helped his friend up.

"What are we going to do?" Kunsel asked Zack as the watched Cloud and Zhane head back toward the base.

"Its like I said before, we have a job to do." Zack said, his eyes hardening as he spoke. "Sebastian and Essai are our problem and we aren't going to let the Turks take them down. That's a job for Soldier."

(/_\) (￣ー￣) (/_\)

Cloud and Zhane hid behind a destroyed tank and watched as Zack and Kunsel talked with Bethany. They were being quiet so that they wouldn't risk being caught. Cloud had somehow let Zhane talk him into not going back to the base and he was seriously considering forcing his friend to listen to reason.

"Look! They're heading out!" Zhane whispered to his friend. "Come on, Cloud, lets follow them!"

"But Zhane, Zack said for us to go back to the base." Cloud whispered to his friend. "We could get in serious trouble for disobeying him."

"Look around you! Do you see what they did to the Shinra military?" Zhane asked him. "They're gonna need all of the help they can get."

"But-"

"Besides," Zhane continued, cutting Cloud off. "Zack also said that we have a job to do and Soldiers always complete their mission."

Sighing, Cloud hung his head in defeat. "We have a job to do…" he muttered, knowing that there was no talking him out of it. "Lets just be careful, alright?"

"Of course! Aren't I always careful?" Zhane asked him.

The look Cloud gave him was enough to make Zhane chuckle nervously.

"Come on, you still can't be mad about that! It was over a year ago!" Zhane exclaimed.

"Lets just go." Cloud said, leaving his friend behind as he continued to talk.

"I sad I was sorry! Cloud, I said I was sorry!"

**End of chapter.**

Well what did you think? As I said earlier, my updates will be fewer but I'll make the chapters a bit longer if I can. I'll try and update at least one in July. Till next time.


	7. Never Give Up

**I don't own FF7. **

**Well here's the next chapter of Soldier. The Mission continues as Zack and company head off to the Avalanche base in order to eliminate the threat in the north once and for all. **

**With so much going on, you will be surprised with one certain even in this chapter. But the question is, what event is it? You will definitely be surprised. Well enough with my rambling. Enjoy!**

**Soldier **

**Chapter 7: Never Give Up**

Zack and Rikku quickly and quietly snuck past a single guard at the entrance. Their mission was clear, shut down the power and cause hell. The rest of their team was waiting on the outside. They would come in once they heard the signal.

As they made their way into the building, Zack noticed that none of the guards seemed to be paying attention. It was almost as if they were deliberately ignoring them. But he pushed those thoughts aside as he followed Rikku. They had been trained in stealth to the point that even cameras had difficulty picking them up.

Deeper and deeper into the base they went, neither making a sound as they carefully snuck past the security. At one point, Zack came close to killing one of the sentries. They eventually reached the generator room that supplied power to the entire base. With a well placed bomb, courtesy of Rikku, Zack and Rikku hurried off in order to avoid being caught in the blast. The hid behind a shed and waited until the bomb went off.

Zack mentally counted down to the 60 second mark and once he heard the resounding explosion, he leaped up and grinned like a mad man. It was time for action.

"Rikku, head over to the entrance and clear a path for the others." Zack ordered as he turned to leave. "I'll keep the main force busy until you guys catch up."

Without waiting for her response, Zack leaped high into the air and landed in the middle of the road. Already there were several guards rushing toward the burning building. But as soon as they caught sight of him, they changed direction and attacked. The first pair that reached him were regular soldiers and Zack made quick work of them. He ducked under their fire and laid both men out with a strong punch to the head.

The next pair had seen what Zack had done to the previous two and they decided to attack from a distance. Using his sword, Zack shielded himself from their shots and charge at them, his smile ever present. Once he was close, Zack leaped high into air, still using his sword to shield himself. As he went over them, he focused on his Blizzard Materia and two blocks of ice formed above their heads. With their attention still on him, they never saw the blocks of ice coming.

But before he could take a moment to breathe, bullets rained down on him and Zack barely managed to roll out of the way. As he came to stop, he used his sword once more as a shield. Peering over the side, he saw that a single gunman sat on the turret. He was firing nonstop at him and Zack was too far away to cast a spell that could hit him. Pinned down, he began to think about his options when he heard a loud explosion and a split second later the turret was consumed by fire.

Behind him, Zack saw Roy and Duke fighting against several guards while the Turks gave them long range cover. Looking back at the turret, there was no one from his team that could've taken it out. So what had been responsible for its destruction? He didn't have time to figure it out as more men rushed out of the main building. Among them, Zack noticed at least four Ravens. Things were about to get interesting.

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Zack blocked a blow that was meant for his head and grunted as he felt the force behind the impact. The Raven he was facing was probably the one that Essai and Sebastian had mention to him. But as quickly as the impact was felt, Zack immediately felt the pressure leave his blade and he quickly ducked as he heard the enemy blade slicing through the air.

This Raven was definitively keeping Zack on his toes as he rolled out of the way of an elbow strike. While Zack was physically stronger than the Raven, the Raven's speed more than made up for that fact. He was so fast that none of Zack's spells could land a hit. He regretted sending Cloud and Zhane back to the base. He could sure use the Haste Materia right about now.

Behind him, he heard Roy grunt as he battled his own Raven. Each Soldier member was being attacked by a Raven and they seemed to have been made especially to counteract each of them. From the glimpse that he caught of Roy's battle, the Raven kept casting Reflect, effectively cutting off Roy's dependency on magic.

A few yards away, Zack saw Duke fighting against a Raven that was casting spells in rapid succession. Duke excelled in close combat as his strength rivaled Zack's. While his spell casting wasn't lacking, he wasn't know for his strong defensive spells. As it was, his Magic Barrier spell was cracked and he was down to one knee.

Zack leaped over the incoming Raven and aimed a kick to the back of its head but it was blocked. The Raven grabbed his ankle and slammed him into the ground. But as the Raven released his hold, Zack pushed his body up and kicked the Raven in the chest. Then with the same impressive strength, Zack pushed himself into the air, flipped once, and landed on his feet, Buster Sword in hand, ready for use.

And Zack was quickly forced into the defensive as the Raven began his assault. With rapid fire strikes, Zack could do little more than defend as he was slowly being pushed back. He was in trouble and if he didn't come up with something soon it wouldn't end well.

(/_\) (￣ー￣) (/_\)

Kunsel leaped back as he avoided a savage strike from his opponent. Then as he feet touched the ground, he lunged forward and stabbed at the Raven. But the Raven blocked the stab and countered with an elbow strike that caught him in the sternum. The blow knocked him off balance and Kunsel was unable to defend himself as the Raven formed a shad of ice and stabbed it into Kunsel's left thigh.

But before Kunsel could so much as shout in pain, the Raven followed up his attack with a slash to the mid section and made a gash across Kunsel's chest. Kunsel watched helplessly as his blood gushed out of his wound. He fell on the snow covered ground and grunted as he tried to block out the pain. He was about to call upon the Cura Materia to heal himself but stopped as his eyes locked on the Raven that stood over him. Weapon raised, Kunsel knew that he was about to die. Only one thought passed through his head, just one.

But before he could give it much thought, Kunsel was surprised to feel blood spraying him across the face. Blinking, he barely registered as the now headless Raven fell beside him.

"Are you okay, Kunsel?"

Looking up, Kunsel even more surprised to see Cloud standing beside him with his back turned to him. He was standing guard while Zhane knelt beside him and began administering the Cure spell.

"What are you two doing here?" Kunsel asked. Zhane had already stopped the bleeding and he was able to use his own Materia to speed up his recovery.

"We came here to help." Zhane said.

"Didn't Zack order you to go back to the base?" Kunsel asked, already knowing that Zack had ordered them to do just that.

"It was my idea." Zhane told him. He had glanced over at Cloud as he did, obviously concerned about his friend. "If Zack asks, tell him that it was all my idea."

"Actually Kunsel, we are following Zack's orders." Cloud said. "We're just taking the scenic route back to base."

Kunsel couldn't help it. He laughed despite the fact that they were still in the middle of a battle. He saw a striking similarity between them and Zack.

"In either case, I'm glad you showed up when you did. Another second and I might've been a goner." Kunsel said, thanking the two Thirds. Taking up his sword, he stood in front of the two Soldiers. "Since you're here, you might as well act as my back up."

"Yes Sir!" they both said.

Kunsel then rushed into the fray, taking out several enemy soldiers as he headed toward the Turks. They would be needing help should they run into a Raven.

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As luck would have it, Cissnei found herself pushed into a corner by two Ravens. She had been forced into a corner and none of her Turk allies were in sight. They were all busy fighting their own Raven by the look of it. But somehow she had wound up with two of them.

The first Raven rushed at her and Cissnei nimbly sidestepped him and kneed him in the gut. But the Raven seemed unaffected by blow. He grabbed a hold of her by the throat and lifted her into the air. She struggled to break free but she soon found out that it was useless. The Raven was stronger than her and she only had precious seconds left before it crushed her throat.

As Cissnei began to succumb to the darkness, she caught a glimpse of gold and he next thing she knew she was in the arms of someone new.

"Damn, these things are strong!" Zhane complained as he struggled to fend off a Raven with only one hand. "And they're fast too!"

"Hold him still!" Kunsel shouted as he ran behind the Raven.

He attempted to behead him from behind but the Raven had seen it coming. The Raven elbowed Kunsel in the chest and them delivered a spinning heel kick to Zhane. With both Soldiers knocked down, the Raven lunged at Cloud and Cissnei. As Cloud leaped back, Cissnei became aware that the Raven that had her by the throat was now lying face down on the ground with its head off. Cloud had saved her.

"Hold on!" he shouted as he aimed his sword at the Raven. Focusing his on Materia, Cloud fired a bolt of lightning from the tip of his sword and struck the Raven in the chest.

Cloud then placed Cissnei on the ground before rushing toward the stunned enemy. But the Raven didn't stay stunned for long and he met Cloud halfway in a clash of steel. Sparks flew as both men tried to over power the other. For the first time, it seemed that the Raven had met its match as Cloud, with some effort, managed to drive back the enemy's sword.

The two continued to fight with a flurry of blows, neither giving an inch to the other. Their swords moved so fast that Cissnei could only see the sparks of their blades clashing.

'_So this was a Soldier.' _she thought. She was caught by surprise, seeing Cloud in action that was. She had seen Zack fight before but never up close. The way they fought was similar but Cloud fought with a silent resolve that could only been seen through his eyes. Zack on the other hand was the total opposite. When Zack fought, he was so full of life, he simply exuded energy. Just watching him fight, those around him would feel driven, to never give up. That was the type of man that Zack was. But seeing Cloud's resolve as he fought, Cissnei felt herself being filled with the same resolve.

She picked up her shuriken and took aim.

Cloud heard the projectile before he ever saw it. He pushed away and leaped back as he fired a bolt of lighting from his hand. The Raven raised his hand to block the spell and in doing so, he failed to see the incoming Shuriken. The spinning blades cut trough his hand and made their way to the Raven's head. The shuriken tore the head clean in half, leaving it gaping open. Cloud finished it off by removing the rest of its head.

Cissnei caught her shuriken as it came back and then turned to Cloud. "Nice job there, Soldier."

"Are you okay?" Cloud asked.

"I'm fine. Thanks for helping out there." Cissnei winced as she tried to push the hair out of her face. Noticing, Cloud came over placed his hand over her arm. There was tear in her uniform and there was some blood. "Its nothing, just a scra-ow!"

"Hold on, I'll heal you." Cloud placed a glowing hand on her arm and after a moment, he pulled away. "There, it should be fine now."

"Thanks." Cissnei could feel her cheeks warming up as she stared up at the blond boy in front of her. Shocked, she quickly turned around and cleared her throat. "Um, Thanks. I'll go and back up my teammates. You should help Zhane and Kunsel. They'll need all the help they can get."

Cloud was slightly confused as he watched Cissnei leave. But he didn't have much time to wonder about her behavior as he was quickly reminded that he was still in the middle of a battlefield.

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Zack cursed his luck as he was thrown against the warehouse wall. Two more Ravens have come out of nowhere and now he was outnumbered three to one. Roy and Duke were still fighting somewhere close by but they couldn't help him.

Zack ducked underneath a savage stab by one of the Ravens and then struck him with an uppercut. But as he did, he felt a fist dig itself into his gut. The second Raven had snuck up and had planted his fist into Zack's side.

Zack elbowed him in the face and then leaped away from those two only to find himself locked in combat once more with the Raven he had first encountered. The Raven had picked up a second sword from somewhere and now he was striking at Zack with a fury. The blades looked like flashes of light as they struck against the Buster Sword. Zack held his ground, matching the Raven's speed as best he could.

But as he battled the Raven, he saw the other two Ravens flanking him from the corner of his eye. Cursing his luck again, Zack couldn't pull away or else risk getting stabbed by the Raven in front of him. As they neared, Zack felt his body tense up as he felt the familiar feeling coursing through him. Smirking, Zack leaped back and raised the Buster Sword high. The Three Ravens closed in and as they got within range, Zack let loose a fierce battle cry as he unleashed his Limit Break.

"Octaslash!" Zack rushed the incoming Ravens, slicing thru the first two and chopping them into pieces. Then he leaped up and brought his blade down on head of the last Raven, cutting him in half.

The Octaslash was one of the Limit Breaks that Zack had copied from Sephiroth. He didn't know how it was possible but he could copy other people's limit breaks by simply being next to them. He had never even seen Sephiroth use the Octaslash but he knew it belonged to him. He didn't know how he knew but he did. It was a bit unnerving.

But he didn't have time to dwell on that at the moment. He had to help his friends.

(/_\) (￣ー￣) (/_\)

"What that hell is your problem?" Zhane yelled as he leaped back. The incoming blade missed him and stabbed the snow covered ground. "Can't you see that I'm handicapped?"

The Raven didn't respond and simply lunged at him again, once more aiming to stab him. Zhane couldn't use his left hand and as a result could only fight at half strength. While he was right handed, it helped to be able to use both hands when wielding a sword. Zhane side stepped the stab and kneed the Raven in the gut. But he soon fought out that the Raven's didn't experience pain. The Raven took the hit to the gut without showing signs that he even felt it and delivered a blow of his own. Zhane was knocked down to the ground by the stronger Raven.

"Damn." Zhane cursed as he leaped back to his feet. "Why won't you be a good little Raven and just die already!"

He tossed his sword up in the air, needing his hand free to cast magic. He placed his hand on his chest and used Haste on himself. He already had Barrier and Regen cast and with the new spell, Zhane felt the odds stacking in his favor.

The Raven rushed him with an attempted slash but Zhane leaped over him and caught his sword during the jump. As he landed, he spun around and slashed at his opponent. But the Raven expected it and managed to block just in time. The momentum from his swing threw the Raven off balance and Zhane took advantage of that. He closed in and stabbed the Raven in the chest. Then he poured his will into the Fire Materia and his blade burst into flames. Then before the Raven could react, Zhane brought the blade up and tore through its shoulder. Then with a final swing, Zhane took off its head.

"Not so tough now, are you?" Zhane asked as he released the Haste magic. It was draining to keep the spell active for long periods of time. But before he could celebrate his victory, Zhane heard the familiar 'click' sound that usually came from a grenade that was about to go off. Looking down at the dead Raven's hand, he saw a grenade clutched tightly in its grip. "Fu-"

The explosive went off and Zhane was sent crashing against the far wall of the building. The Barrier had taken the worse of the blast but Zhane was still hurt. He fell on the ground, coughing from the pain. The wind had been knocked out of him and he struggled to take a breath.

Despite nearly dying again, the only thing that Zhane could think of was Zack's disappointment in him getting caught off guard like that. He was suppose to be in Soldier and he was acting like a rookie Infantry soldier.

Zhane groaned as he pushed himself up with his right hand. He couldn't hear anything aside from the loud ringing noise caused by the explosion. That bastard had probably picked up the grenade off of a dead Avalanche soldier. Zhane had been careless and it had nearly cost him his life. Looking around, he could see that he had been through several yards from where he had been fighting. He couldn't see Kunsel anywhere nor Cloud. He had no doubt that they were still alive but he was worried about where they had gone off to.

"Don't move!" Looking to his right, Zhane saw a squad of 12 enemy soldiers, all aiming their weapons at him.

'fck…' he thought as he raised his hands. There was no way he could get out of there alive. He had lost his sword during the explosion and he was still hurting. Closing his eyes, Zhane accepted his fate and bowed his head.

Shots were fired and Zhane stood his ground, knowing that even his Barrier spell wouldn't protect him at that range. But after a second of waiting, Zhane opened his eyes, wondering why he hadn't died yet.

"What did I tell you about embracing your dreams and protecting your Soldier Honor?"

Standing in front him, surrounding by bodies, was Zack. He looked serious, not his usual cheerful self. He was staring at Zhane with a look that made the young Soldier feel ashamed of himself.

"I'm sorry, Zack. I thought-" Zhane began but stopped as his words failed him.

Zack walked over to him and placed his hand on Zhane's shoulder. "Never give up, not even in the face of danger." Zhane looked up and saw Zack smiling. "Now come on, we have a job to do."

"Sir, yes, Sir!" Zhane picked up his sword and followed Zack. He wanted to prove himself to Zack, to show him that he hadn't forgotten his Soldier Honor. He would never give up, never again.

**End of chapter. **

Well what did you think? I'm curious to know if you found out what part I was referring to. The next chapter will probably come up in a month. I'm also gonna be getting internet again soon so hopefully I'll be able to read stories again. I got a lot of catching up to do.


	8. Into The Fray

**I don't own FF7. **

**Well I probably shouldn't have spent so much time on this and gotten it done as fast as I did but here it is, the next chapter. I feel kind of bad, some parts seemed rushed. But to be honest, I'm stuck in a sort of writers block. Still, the only way to get out of a rut to push on through. Hopefully you'll enjoy what is shown, I certainly enjoyed it. **

**In this chapter, you get a closer look at the Turks, at their individual talents. I said in earlier chapters that the Turks would have a big part to play in this story and its in this chapter that it begins to show. After this mission, the Turks will become more involved and Cloud and Zhane will be part of their missions.**

**Well enough about that. Enjoy.**

**Soldier **

**Chapter 8: Into The Fray**

Zhane dodged and weaved through the hailstorm of fire that the Raven had summoned. With the numbers against them, the last remaining Ravens teamed up and the 6 Soldier tried their best to reach them. With his powerful spells, Zack drew most of their fire but everyone else had to be on their guard as well.

Cloud had gone with Kunsel to flank them from the other side while Zhane followed Duke and Roy. The older Soldier members dodged without hesitation, showing their experience in the battlefield of past skirmishes. Zhane was in awe of their finesse, knowing that he was witnessing what it meant to be a Soldier in this battle. Not just with Roy and Duke but with Zack as well. From the corner of his eye, he could see Zack bearing the brunt of the magical assault, not once showing weakness or doubt. That unbreakable confidence and courage inspired Zhane to continue one, despite being handicapped.

As they drew near, Roy splintered off to the side while Duke pulled back to run along side him. With a single nod, Zhane knew that the Second was counting on him.

Fire erupted from their feet, almost as if a geyser had gone off. Zhane nimbly side stepped the pillar of fire and continued on, now alert for next assault. When it become clear that they could no longer maintain their ground, the two Ravens split, heading toward the two flanking groups.

Duke was hit first, the Raven showing impressive speed. The Second managed to block the blow but the impact caused him to lose his momentum. Unable to move right away, Duke was left open, allowing the Raven to blast him with fire. With Duke down, Zhane was forced on the defensive. He leaped back and cast Haste on himself, momentarily increasing his speed.

Not a split second later, the Raven struck, sending a blast of fire toward him. Zhane ducked and to his horror, the Raven appeared in his path, blade poised and ready to stab. Unable to change his course, the blade tore thru his right shoulder, causing him to drop his sword.

Zhane shouted in pain, gripping the handle of the blade. But the Raven wasn't done yet, he placed his free hand in front of Zhane's face and it began to glow orange red. Zhane stared into the glowing hand for a moment, feeling the heat of the flames that began to form. In that moment, Zhane felt it. The same rush he had felt several times before.

Faster than his foe could move, Zhane tore the weapon of his shoulder and slashed out at the Raven in front of him, creating an arc of energy. His blood mixed with the energy of his Limit Break and turned the blue energy into a blood red color as it tore through the Raven's chest and continued on into the distance.

The arc tore right through the Raven's torso, from his right shoulder down to his ribs on his left. As Zhane fell to his knees, he was shocked to see that the Raven was still alive. It gripped the edge of its sword that Zhane had dropped and aimed it at him. With its last strength, it threw the blade at Zhane, aiming to pierce his head. Zhane tried to move out of the way but despite his best efforts, the blade still sliced the side of his face, cutting up his cheek.

Zhane fell on side, not being able to stop himself. And as he lay there, he started laughing. He laughed because it hit him that he had used his left hand to use his limit break. The irony of trying so hard not to use it only to have it save his life was hilarious to him.

"Are you alright, kid?" Duke knelt beside him, already administering the Cure spell to him. His wounds weren't fatal, of that he was sure of. But it didn't make them any less painful.

"I'm fine…" Zhane told him. "I just realized that my hand is fine as well."

"And that's why you're laughing? Cause your hand is fine?" Zhane nodded. "I swear, you young kids get crazier with each passing generation."

A thought crossed his mind. "How old are you, Duke?" the Second had his visor up and Zhane could see his face. But even then Duke didn't look that old.

"I'm 25." Duke answered. "I've been a soldier for 10 years now."

"Wow…I wonder if I'll live that long…"

"25 is turning out to be a milestone for Soldier members. Only two guys have made it past 25." Duke told him.

"I know one of them is Sephiroth but who's the other?" Zhane asked. He was feeling much better now. His wound was closed and Duke was almost done healing him.

"Angeal…Zack's old mentor. He was only one besides Sephiroth to live past 25. He died at the age of 27." Duke said. With a sigh, he rose to full height and looked down at Zhane. "If you truly want to make it as a Soldier, and especially to make it to 25, you have to remember one thing. Never forget your Soldier Honor."

Nodding, Zhane stood up and tested out his shoulder. He could move it without any pain, a sign that Duke had healed him properly. "Thanks Duke. I don't know what I would've done if you hadn't healed me."

"Take an ether pill. You're probably low on Mana. Once you're ready, rejoin with Zack. I'm going to go and search for Roy." Duke told him.

(/_\) (￣ー￣) (/_\)

Cissnei back flipped as she tossed her Shuriken, aiming for the Raven that was fighting against Rikku and Tomoyo. Tomoyo saw the shuriken coming and struck the Raven in several pressure points in rapid succession, temporally immobilizing him. The shuriken sliced through the back of his neck and took his head clean off.

A few yards away, Ryu was locked in combat against a Raven, using his stun Rod to battle against his enemy's blade. With each strike, the electricity of his rod slowed his opponent down. It wasn't long before Ryu was able to step within his opponents defense and strike him with the head of his rod. Sparks flew as the electricity crackled in the air. With his opponent now stunned, Ryu leaped back as Yamato simultaneously shot the Raven in the head and heart at point blank. Even after the body had fallen to the ground, Yamato unleashed the remainder of his clip from his two handguns.

Nearby, Tamaki struck with rapid strikes, his Nunchakus moving so fast that they appeared to be red blurs. Each strike sent his opponent staggering back several feet. Tamaki left him no room to breathe, his normally joyful expression replaced with a cold but determined look. With a strike to the skull, Tamaki wrapped the chain of his Nunchaku around the Raven's neck and with a strong pull, the chain shredded through the skin, tearing off its head. Blood squirted like a geyser, bathing Tamaki in red. As a single drop of blood fell from the edge of his hair, Tamaki couldn't help himself. He smiled.

With expert precision, Bethany fired off round after round from her handgun, shooting the Ravens in their knees and the joints of their arms. While she didn't use it often, Materia had its uses. Especially the Time Materia, it was her favorite. The Stop spell had frozen her opponents in place, giving her the ability to shoot them without fail. Once she was satisfied that they wouldn't be a threat should the spell wear off, she walked over to them and placed a grenade underneath their chins. A few moments later, Bethany heard the twin explosions several yards behind her. She was a Turk, third in command behind Tseng and Veld. She would complete her mission, nothing would stand in her way. Not even Soldier.

"We've eliminated all possible threats on the outside. Are we to proceed into the main base?" Cissnei asked as she and the other Turks regrouped around Bethany.

"Yes. We will proceed as plan. Take a moment to prepare if you wish. Otherwise, lets move on. Zack's group will be here in any moment and we must complete our objective before they reach the compound." Bethany looked at her teammates. "You have just won a hard fought battle. But I fear that the battle yet to come will be tougher than any assignment we have faced yet. You were all given the chance to back out of this mission when Tseng presented it to us. So now, I ask you once more. Do any of you wish to back out? There is no guarantee that we will survive. In fact, the probability that we are walking into a trap is 99%. Speak now for there is no turning back once we walk through those doors."

For a moment, no one spoke. The Turks cleaned their weapons, making sure that they would be ready for use. Once done, they all looked up at their lead. No words were needed. They knew that none of them would back out and leave their comrades behind. If they were gonna die, they would give their killers hell before doing so. That was the their way, the Turk way.

(/_\) (￣ー￣) (/_\)

"Zhane, are you alright? What happened?" Cloud asked as he spotted his friend heading toward them. "Is that your blood?"

"Yea…I got stabbed a couple times but luckily Duke healed me." Zhane said.

"You have to be more careful." Zack told him. "Just because you're in Soldier, that doesn't mean your invincible."

"Believe me, I know. I'll try and be more careful from now on." Zhane said. Then he flexed his hand in front of them. "On the bright side, my hand works."

"That's good. But you'll still need to be checked out once we return to base." Zack said. The First then looked around. "Where are Duke and Roy? Weren't they with you?"

"Duke left to search for Roy after he finished healing me. He said that they'd catch up with us." Zhane said. "I'm not sure where Roy went though."

"Well I guess we'll have to wait till they join us." Zack said after a moment.

"Zack, I can't find the Turks anywhere." Kunsel said as he joined them. "I think they went into the base without us."

"I expected as much." Zack said with a sigh. "The Turks are always doing things on their own. Director Lazard told me that they might be on a different mission. Whatever it is that they're after, just let them take it. Soldier isn't paid to be nosy, we do our job and mind our own business. Is that understood?"

"Yes sir." the three of them said.

"Good. If you're ready, lets head into the base. We still have to find Essai and Sebastian. If you happen to run into them, contact either Kunsel or myself to come and assist you. Do not, I repeat, do not engage them on your own. You two might be promising Soldiers but you're not experienced enough to take them on." Zack then turned to face Kunsel. "Do you still have the explosives?"

"Yes. I hid them at the entrance before the fighting started. I retrieved them as I looked for the Turks." Kunsel said. "I'll plant the bombs while you guys keep the enemy busy."

"Alright, don't do anything I wouldn't do." Zack told him with a smirk.

"Right, I definitely won't attract attention to myself, if that's what you mean." Kunsel said as he walked away.

"What? Attracting attention to myself just comes naturally. Its not like I asked to be this good looking." Zack said as he turned to his two friends. "Am I right?"

"Um…" Cloud and Zhane said as they glanced at one another. The look on their faces made Zack bust out laughing. He had forgotten that they weren't used to his brand of humor.

"Come on, lets go. I'll lead the way."

(/_\) (￣ー￣) (/_\)

Zack was surprised to find base empty as they ventured down the corridors. No sound came from the many rooms. He suspected that they Turks had finished off anyone they had come across but he somehow doubt it due to the lack of blood.

They continued deeper and deeper into the base, eventually reaching the bottom level. As Zack opened the door, he was not surprised to see that the lights were turned off. He reached into this pocket and pulled out a mini flashlight and turned it on. The room was spacious with enough to act as a training facility. But it looked more like the inside of Hojo's lab. There was even a large containment structure in the center of the room.

But as he drew nearer, the lights suddenly turned on and Zack found himself surrounded by several Ravens. Then he noticed that within the glass structure that both Duke and Roy lay unconscious. They looked battered but there was no signs of serious injury.

"So you're a First Class Soldier?" a well mannered voice called out.

Zack looked up to see a man standing on the catwalk. He was rather young, younger than Zack had expected. He was finely dressed with an air of nobility about him. He wore glasses and had well groomed brown hair. But his eyes, they showed a coldness that chilled Zack's blood. He had seen evil men before but none that rivaled this man.

"I must admit that I was rather impressed with your battle on the surface. You display a character trait that I hope to one day impart into the minds of my Ravens." the man continued. "While you're still not the equal of Sephiroth, you are still in a league of your own. The Ravens that I made to defeat you proved to be lacking. A pity too…I had recently captured several test subjects that were generously donated by Shinra."

"You mean that the Ravens we fought before used to be Shinra infantry?" Zack asked, outraged. He could tell that the man was heartless but to think that he would experiment on anyone that he could get a hold of, Zack found himself hating this man, which was rare for him.

"You seem upset? Were they perhaps friends of yours?" the man asked, somewhat curious. "You see, I have no criteria about who I bestow my gifts to. So long as its alive, I will not discriminate against anyone. That's not true, I apologize for lying. I don't pick women to become Ravens. I have a more…practical use for them. After all, once I restore the balance of the planet, I will need to repopulate the human race, in my image, of course."

Zack couldn't believe what he was hearing. This man, this sick, twisted, insane, cold, deranged man wanted to recreate the human race in his own image. Zack had read the briefing reports, Avalanche wanted to restore the planet to its former beauty. But their methods had always been extreme. Now Zack knew the extent of their plans. And he would be damned if he stood by and let it happened.

"You sick bastard! There's no way I'm going to let you get away with this!" Zack said as he pulled his Buster Sword off his back. This action did not go unnoticed as over 20 blades were drawn from their sheaths.

"Such words hold no sway here, I'm afraid." the man said as he looked down, figuratively and literally, at Zack. "If you were Sephiroth, then perhaps I might be concerned. But alas you are. You might kill them all but I will be long gone before you ever get the chance to reach me." he began to walk away. "Have fun. If any part of your body survives, I might use it for my experiments. You never know what secrets I might uncover. You should feel honored."

Zack pushed off the ground with all his might, anger fueling his actions. He wasn't going to let that creep get away but as he neared the catwalk, the man turned around with surprising speed and aimed a strange gun at his face. But instead of being shot with a bullet as he expected, he was blasted by a beam of energy.

Zack flipped once and landed hard on his feet, skidding backwards until he came to a stop. But before he could give what had just occurred much thought, he quickly attacked by the Ravens. Four swords came slashing down and Zack was forced to block with the Buster Sword. Their strengths varied but none were a match for him and Zack pushed them all back with a swing of his arms. Raising his left arm, Zack cast Firaga spell and forced the Ravens to back away.

With his newly gained space, Zack leaped into the fray, knowing that he had to end this before the man got away. With a fierce battle cry, Zack prepared to enter the next fight he would know. Too bad it wouldn't be a good fight.

(/_\) (￣ー￣) (/_\)

Cloud hurried down corridor as he heard the familiar sounds of battle coming from below him. Zack had ordered him and Zhane to check every room just incase there was anything that could be useful to Shinra. But now he regretted leaving his friend alone. He tried contacting him with their radios but Zack wasn't answering. He tried calling Zhane as well but he didn't answer either. He had gotten a hold of Kunsel but the Second was three floors above him and it would take him time to reach the bottom level.

As he neared the stairs, Cloud was forced to duck as he heard a blade slicing through the air. Not a second later, a knife imbedded itself into the wall above Cloud's head. Turning around to face his would be assassin, Cloud was surprised to see Essai standing at the end of the corridor, blade drawn.

"Essai…" Cloud could tell that Essai wasn't there for a friendly chat. Drawing his own sword, Cloud prepared himself for the fight that was to come. He just hoped that Zack was wrong about them being ready to take Essai and Sebastian on because he had a feeling that the reason Zhane hadn't answered was because he was facing Sebastian.

Without a word, Essai crossed the distance between them and Cloud barely managed to raise his blade and block the blow that was meant to take his head off. The force from the impact sent Cloud skidding back several yards before coming to a stop. Essai was definitely stronger than Cloud, of that he was sure of. But strength didn't guarantee victory. It was a basic rule that they had been taught back in the academy. Cloud just hoped that he had what it took to survive this battle.

(/_\) (￣ー￣) (/_\)

Zhane grunted as he locked blades with Sebastian. The older Soldier member was faster than him but his strength was almost equal to Zhane's. Zhane pushed back and struck hard, hoping to throw the traitor off balance. But as their swords met, they shattered under the immense strain. This surprised Zhane but he quickly got over it.

With his weapon ruined, Zhane quickly shifted into hand to hand combat and caught the Soldier by surprise. He struck him with an open palm strike and followed up with an uppercut. Zhane had been the top of his class when it came to hand to hand combat. True, he was no master like Tomoyo but Zhane was no amateur.

The uppercut allowed Zhane to unleash a string a of strikes that ended with a devastating palm strike that sent Sebastian thru the wall and into the adjacent room. But to Zhane's surprise, Sebastian rose up unscathed and launched an assault of his own. He lunged at Zhane only to seemingly vanish in an after image. Then as Zhane tried to comprehend what had happened, a fist buried itself into his gut, knocking the wind out of him.

Sebastian was faster than him. That punch had made it painfully clear. Sebastian pulled back and then punched Zhane in the face, knocking his helmet off. Without his gear, Zhane was left open to another head strike and he felt his lip bust open. The next strike sent Zhane slamming into the opposite wall of the corridor.

He heard the wall crack under the force but he ignored it. As Sebastian came at him, Zhane blocked the initial strike and countered with his own but Sebastian was too quick. He caught Zhane's elbow and pushed him against the wall, pinning him. Having no choice, Zhane head butted the older Soldier. Sebastian still wore his helmet and Zhane could feel the warm blood that flowed from his newly opened wound on his forehead. But it didn't matter because Sebastian had loosened his hold on him.

Zhane placed his hand on Sebastian's chest and focused on the magic within. His hand glowed bright orange before it erupted into a fiery explosion. Zhane was thrown thru the wall and into the adjacent room. The blast had made his ears ring and his whole body smoked. But that was the worst of it. Regen was definitely his favorite spell.

Coughing, Zhane slowly rose to his feet as he surveyed the damage that he had caused. The wall he had come thru had a wide hole through which he could see into the room across from him. The blast had cut off the lights so he couldn't see inside of the room but he knew that Sebastian was in there.

Reaching into his pouch, Zhane popped another ether pill into his mouth. He would need all the mana he could muster in order to finish the fight. With both of them down to their bare hands, it would come down to who was the better fighter.

No sooner had he finished swallowing the pill that Sebastian came rushing toward him. But what caught his eye was the gleaming steel in his hands. Zhane leaped out of the way and rolled to a knee. That bastard had gotten a hold of a pair of knives. Now Zhane was unarmed against an armed opponent. He didn't want to have to do it, but he called upon the other Materia he had in his possession. Casting Barrier and Haste, Zhane ducked under the double slash and leaped back.

It was dangerous to overuse Haste and Zhane could already feel his body being weighed down by fatigue. Haste sped up the body and that included everything. Panting, Zhane stepped back in order to avoid Sebastian's knives. As he did, Zhane noticed that Sebastian's skin was healing right before his eyes. The burnt skin faded away, leaving unmarked flesh.

Soldier members were told about their rapid healing abilities but even they couldn't heal that fast. Zhane had only seen that once before and that had been earlier that day.

"You're a Raven!" Zhane exclaimed. That explained why Sebastian hadn't said a single word during their whole fight. Zhane grabbed a hold of both of Sebastian's wrists and kneed him in the crotch. "You don't feel pain, right?"

Sebastian barely flinched from the blow to his sack and he retaliated with a knee strike of his own, making Zhane release his grip. Zhane then hissed as he felt Sebastian slash his forearm. The Barrier spell had prevented the wound from being deeper than it was but it didn't stop the attack all together.

"Damn…I might be out of my league here…" Zhane muttered. He wasn't going to last much longer, not with his body already tiring. He just hoped that he could find a way to end it before Sebastian could end him.

(/_\) (￣ー￣) (/_\)

Cloud cast cure on himself to heal the cracked ribs he had gotten from Essai moments before. He was hiding in a dark room, leaning against on of the counters. Essai had proved to be much to strong for Cloud to take on alone. During the fight, he came to the conclusion that Essai had been turned into a Raven and that his strength had been enhanced beyond regular Soldier levels. After all, he had slit Essai's throat only to see it heal right before his eyes.

Now he was trying to come up with a plan to take down the newly discovered Raven but he was coming up blank. None of his plans would work, not unless Essai could be held down for more than three seconds. But Cloud knew that it wasn't possible.

He hoped that Zhane was having better luck than he was. He could hear another fight on the floor above him but he had no way of reaching it without Essai spotting him.

With his ribs healed, Cloud prepared himself for round two when two things happened. Essai burst through the door, breaking it into pieces. And the room collapsing above them. Cloud was shocked to see Zhane fist fight Sebastian. With a strike to the chin, Zhane gained the upper hand before delivering a boot to the head, knocking the Raven against the nearby desk.

But Zhane's victory was short lived as Essai attacked him, his sword missing Zhane's head by inches. Zhane leaned back before coming up and unleashing a barrage of punches into Essai's chest. He then grabbed Essai's wrist and snapped it with his elbow, causing him to release his grip on the sword. But Sebastian had rejoined the fight and Zhane was knocked back by a blow to the chest. Staggering, Zhane was unable to defend himself as Sebastian unloaded a flurry of blows. Each time a hit struck, a bright flash would briefly come up, showing the tell tale sign of the Barrier magic still in affect.

Zhane was able to break through Sebastian's attack and he elbowed the Raven in the throat only to receive a knee to the gut. Essai had rejoined the fight and his arm had been healed. Essai laid Zhane out with a blow to the face, sending him sprawling to the floor. Then Zhane rolled out of the way as Essai came stomping down. But he wasn't given much of a chance to breathe as Sebastian tackled him to the ground. Zhane was barely able to raise his arms up to defend himself as Sebastian rained blows down on him.

Throughout this entire exchange, Cloud had watched from his hiding spot. He stayed hidden as he watched his friend get beaten to the ground. It pained him not to act but he was waiting for the right moment. Essai had walked over to his fallen weapon, bending down to pick it up. It was then that Cloud made his move.

He leaped from his spot and sliced through Essai's waist, cutting him in half. But he didn't stop there, he hurried over to his friend's side and chopped off Sebastian's head. Then he kicked the body off his friend and knelt by his side, using Cure to heal Zhane.

"Zhane, are you alright?"

"Cloud…I can't feel my legs…" Zhane muttered.

"Its okay, once I finish healing you I'm sure that yo-" but Cloud didn't get to finish his sentence. He cried out in pain as he felt metal pierce his back.

As he fell to his side, Zhane sat up and watched as Essai, what was left of him, made his way toward them. It was disturbing to see half a man crawling toward them, leaving a trail of blood and organs in his wake. Unable to rise, Zhane did the only thing that he could. He raised his right hand and summoned what remained of his magic. He shot a single fireball at Essai's head and watched as he was consumed by the flames. Both friends watched until the last of the flames ended, leaving behind nothing but charred remains.

**End of chapter.**

Well what did you think? Both Cloud and Zhane ended up fighting against Sebastian and Essai. Normally they would've been killed but because of their main character status, I couldn't let them die, could I? still, I had to have them win and with them barely surviving seemed like the only appropriate way. If your wondering about Duke and Roy, they got captured by Essai and Sebastian. The Turks mission will also be revealed after this mission is done.

Well till next time.


	9. Mission Accomplished

**I don't own FF7. **

**Well here's the next chapter. Its sort of a filler chapter since most the action happened in the last chapter. Then end of the mission is here and everyone, well mostly everyone, gets to go back home to Midgar. I've actually been enjoying writing this story and thanks to your reviews, I've actually written up this chapter sooner than expected. it's a filler, yes, but still a chapter. **

**Well I hope you all enjoy it. **

**Soldier **

**Chapter 9: Mission Accomplished**

Zack leaped off one Raven as he sliced through another that had tried to attack him from above. As he landed, he spun on his heel and finished off the Raven that he had leaped over.

But despite taking two down, they still had the numbers advantage. He was lucky that none of them had access to Materia.

Feeling his body surge with energy, Zack unleashed another Limit Break, this time using the one that he had copied from Zhane. The Buster Sword glowed bright blue briefly before Zack unleashed an arc of energy that took down several unprepared Ravens.

"Celestial Slash!" as he called out the name of the attack, Zack couldn't help but wonder how bizarre the name sounded. But he quickly snuffed that thought as he remembered Sephiroth's Octaslash.

With the numbers slowly tipping in his favor, Zack was surprised to hear the sound of alarms blaring throughout the base.

"What the hell?"

The Ravens seemed unfazed by the alarms but that came as no surprise. They were practically mindless. Zack knew that that base's self destruct sequence must've been activated. He would have to kill all of the Ravens in order to get a chance to save Duke and Roy. He was not leaving without them.

"Cissnei, Rikku, help Zack with the Ravens. Tomoyo, get Duke and Roy out of that containment chamber!"

Turning around, Zack was honestly surprised to see Bethany standing behind him with Cissnei, Tomoyo, and Rikku at her side. At her command, Cissnei and Rikku rushed to face the Ravens while Tomoyo headed toward the chamber that held the two Soldiers.

"Zack, the base is going to blow in less than five minutes. We need to evacuate now!" Bethany informed him. She aimed down her sights and fired shot after shot, each one taking down a Raven. "We don't have time to waste!"

"But what about the others?" Zack asked, impressed with what he saw. "I haven't gotten word from Kunsel, Cloud, or Zhane."

"Yamato and Ryu have them. Kunsel is with them as well." Bethany took a moment to reload. "They're banged up but otherwise still alive. But I can't say the same for us if we don't hurry."

"Right!" Zack hurried over to the contain chamber and helped Tomoyo carry Duke. He was surprised to see the glass shattered from the outside. Tomoyo must've been every strong in order to accomplish that.

With the last of the Ravens taken care of, the Turks and Soldiers made their way up to the surface. Along the way, Zack was surprise to see the wreckage that was caused on the two floors above the lab. Judging from the destruction, he imagined that Zhane and Cloud must've been fighting against someone.

As they neared the exit, Tamaki joined them. He was covered in blood and what disturbed Zack the most was that Tamaki didn't seem at all bothered by that fact. But he ignored it since he imagined that he himself was covered in blood too.

They had just reached the entrance of the base when they felt the ground tremble beneath their feet. Moments later, the entire base burst into flames as several large explosions consumed the area.

Zack was glad that they had made it out alive. But he was worried about Essai and Sebastian. He hadn't run into them and he wondered what became of them. Traitors or not, they were still his friends.

"Zack, you're alive!" Kunsel sounded relieved.

As Zack turned, wondering why his friend sounded so relieved, he saw the state that Zhane and Cloud were in. Both teens looked as though they had gone through hell and back again. Zhane in particular looked beat up, for a lack of a better word. Both were covered in blood, especially Zhane, his hair was matted in thick dried blood. Zack hoped it wasn't his own.

"What the hell happened to you guys?" Zack asked, unable to hide his shock.

Zhane was unconscious so Cloud answered. "We fought against Essai and Sebastian." the blond said, lowering his gaze down to stare at his friend. "We almost died…"

"I'll say…when I found them, both were bleeding and Cloud here had been stabbed in the back." Kunsel told him. "I was able to patch them up but there's nothing I can do for Zhane. His body has reached its limits. He must've overused the Haste Materia."

"Why didn't you call for help?" Zack asked. He was still taking in their appearance, feeling guilty that he hadn't been there to help them.

"I tried…" Cloud looked up, his eyes showing no lies. "But you didn't answer and Kunsel was too far away…I had to fight…"

"I understand…" Zack sighed heavily before turning to Bethany. "Thanks for helping us out back there. We probably would've lost more if you hadn't returned for us."

"Don't mention it." Bethany replied. "Tseng wouldn't have liked it if you died."

"Still, thanks. You have no idea what it means to me that my friends are alive." Zack gave her his largest, friendliest smile. "I owe you one."

Unfazed, she turned away. "Then perhaps I will cash it in should the need ever arise. Until then, you may consider yourself in my debt." then she began to walk away. "Lets move out. I don't want to be here any longer than I have to."

(/_\) (￣ー￣) (/_\)

It took over half a day to reach the base. From there, they were called back to Midgar for debriefing. Three days later, Zack was relieved to see the Shinra building. It had been a long trip and hard mission. But he was proud of both Cloud and Zhane. They had survived their first major assignment and even defeated two seemingly invincible opponents. While he was saddened by the deaths of Essai and Sebastian, Zack knew that anyone of their lives could end at any moment and that was the life of Soldier. It was important to live life to the fullest and without regrets.

Director Lazard peered over his glasses as he read the reports. Zack, Duke, Roy, and Kunsel were all present in the room along with Sephiroth. As he finished, Lazard removed his glasses and pinched the bridge of his nose.

"Are these all of the accounts that transpired during the mission?" he asked, already knowing what Zack was going to say.

"Yes, sir."

"And did you find any weakness in these…Ravens?"

"Aside from removing their heads, they appear to be immortal. They can survive even the most fatal of wounds and heal almost instantly."

"Damn that Fuhito…" Lazard cursed. "He's even more twisted than Hojo…"

"Sir, with Fuhito still at large, will Soldier be sent after him?" Duke asked.

Lazard sighed once more before answering. "No…while Soldier performed admirably, the president doesn't want to give Fuhito and Avalanche any more chances to experiment on Soldier members. From Cloud's and Zhane's reports, Soldiers turned Ravens could prove to be a real threat."

"Then who will stop Avalanche if not Soldier?" Roy asked.

"You forget that there's still the Shinra Infantry. They will handle Avalanche along with the occasional help from the Turks. As for Soldier, Sephiroth will be put in charge of taking Fuhito down for now." Lazard placed a folder down on the desk. "These are your new orders. Take a week off to recover if you wish, there's no hurry."

Zack knew when he was being dismissed and after he picked up his mission statement, he left the room to wait for Kunsel. He didn't have to wait long and once his friend had joined him, they walked toward the elevator together.

"Was it me or did the director seemed stressed?" Zack asked as he pushed the button to open the doors.

"Just a bit…" Kunsel agreed. "Though its probably because it Essai and Sebastian that turned traitors. I don't see Scarlet and Heidegger giving him an easy time about that."

"Well I hope Sephiroth has better luck than us. I'm going to be taking the week off so that I can spend some time with Aeris." Zack said with a grin. "I've been gone far to long."

"Zack, my friend, you sure are lucky to have her. Don't mess up." Kunsel grinned. "Or else I might have to step in and console her."

This made Zack laugh. "Please, if I ever mess up, I give you my permission to not only console her but to kick my ass as well."

As the door opened to the Soldier level, both friends got off. "Hey, have you seen Zhane or Cloud anywhere? I promised I'd give them some training after the mission was done."

Kunsel shook his head. "No. But if you want to get a hold of them, try their cells. After all, they have those too."

"I'll call them later. I'm heading to the mission room real quick to see if I got anything new. Afterward I'm gonna call Aeris."

"Alright, see you later." Kunsel waved as he went down another corridor.

Zack waved as well before heading down to the mission room. As he made his way there, he noticed that a bunch of Second and Thirds were rushing toward the common room, saying something about a good fight. Curious, Zack made his way over to the screen and looked up.

To his surprise and amusement, Zhane and Cloud were in the training room and they were sparring against one another. The virtual room had been made to look like a grassy field, giving them ample room to move around in. They moved at a quickened pace, swords flashing brightly in the virtual sun. Sparks flew and after a moment, a fire began to burn. The fire raged around them, bathing them in an orange glow.

Zhane parried a skyward strike from Cloud before attacking with his own downward swipe. Cloud used the edge of his blade to evade the swipe and then countered with his own slash. Zhane leaped back and then both teens lunged at one another. They met in the middle, their swords clashing in an impressive show of force. The impact sent a shockwave that put the flames out. But neither Soldier had noticed.

They were locked in a test strength, one had to best the other. But neither as willing to back down. For a moment, Zack wondered how many times they had done this in past. Their moves were executed without doubt, as if they had done it many times before.

After thirty seconds, both teens pulled back and leaped away. Once they reached a certain distance, they took a stance and raised their blades. Both blades began to glow bright blue, signifying that both teens had achieved their Limit Breaks.

Zack was actually concerned for a moment. He knew the type of power those two had, having copied their Limit breaks. He made his way toward the training room door but he was too late. He heard those gathered gasp in surprise and not a moment later, the whole floor shuddered from the explosion.

"Zack, what the hell was that?" he heard Kunsel shout as he tried to force open the door.

"No time to explain!"

With Kunsel help, they pried open the door and rushed inside. One of the glass panels to the Virtual reality chamber was shattered. What had shattered the glass had apparently been Cloud as he lay on the now busted equipment panels against the wall. Through the smoke, they could see Zhane lying facedown on the far wall opposite Cloud.

"Cloud, are you alright?" Zack helped pull Cloud from the wrecked equipment, careful not to harm his friend.

Cloud groaned as he slowly came to. He stumbled a bit as he got to his feet and shook his head before speaking. "Wh-What happened?"

"You and Zhane nearly destroyed the training room!" Zack turned toward the direction of the VR chamber. He could see Kunsel helping Zhane to his feet. The younger Soldier seemed fine if a bit groggy from the explosion. "You two are something else, you know that?"

"What do you mean?" Cloud rubbed his eyes before finally noticing the state of the room. "We did that?"

"Yea, you did." Zack couldn't help it. He laughed. "Even _I _haven't caused this much damage to the training room."

"Are we gonna be in trouble for this?" Cloud asked, worried about the repercussions of their training. "They told us that the room could handle anything."

This made Zack grin. "Apparently they had never met you two before."

"Dude…those scientists were full of crap when they told us that this room could handle anything." Zhane complained as he exited the chamber via the broken window. "Next time, we train outside of Midgar. I don't want to be that close when we fire off our Limit Breaks again."

"Again? Exactly how many times have you done this?" Kunsel asked.

"About 6 times?" Zhane told them as he counted off his head. "Was it six? Cloud, did we count that one time we trained with Ken and Davis?"

Cloud shook his head. "No, that was to see if we could beat their team work. Plus, we lost that one."

"Alright, then the answer is six." Zhane told Zack.

"And does it always end like this?" Zack waved at the demolished room.

"Not really…usually Cloud's limit break will overpower mine and I dodge it." Zhane confessed. "This is the first time that its actually been a stalemate."

"Really?" this intrigued the older Soldiers.

"You know…I think its time that we teach you boys how to actually use those swords." Zack commented as he stared thoughtfully at Kunsel.

"Why do I have a bad feeling about this?" Kunsel asked, not liking the look Zack had.

"Really? That would be awesome!" Zhane said excitedly.

"I'd really appreciate any training you can give us, Zack." Cloud added.

"Its no problem. In fact, I think this will benefit us as much as it will benefit you. isn't that right, buddy ol' pal." Zack said as he placed his arm around Kunsel's shoulder.

Kunsel could only sigh as he hung his head in defeat. Whatever Zack had in mind would probably mean pain for him. He might be in Soldier but no one had Zack's stamina. He just hoped that the Shinra Department Store had stocked up on Ether and Potions. He was gonna need all that he could get.

**End of chapter. **

Well what did you think? In the next chapter, Ken and Davis will be making their first appearance as well as Aeris. Zack has to spend time with his Girlfriend after all. Cloud can't keep him all to himself. Lol. As for Zhane, he's actually going to go on an adventure without Cloud or Zack. Probably not right away, maybe in like two or three chapters.

Well that's it for now. The next chapter will probably be a long one so expect that. Till next time.


	10. Friends, Family, Life

**I don't own FF7.**

**Well isn't this a surprise? I actually finished another chapter within a few days time. I've been getting so much love from you guys that I've felt inspire to continue writing. Not sure if I can continue this pace but if I keep getting awesome reviews then I will try my best to meet the demand.**

**Part of the reason I finished this so fast was because I was so pumped for the 1000****th**** episode of Monday Night RAW! I'm a huge WWE fan and my excitement for it led me to finish this. I had to do something while I waited for the show to start so why not put that energy to good use?**

**Anyways, this chapter is pretty long and I hope that you all enjoy it. **

**Soldier **

**Chapter 10: Friends, Family, Life**

"Hey Zack, what's with the random mission requests that Cloud and I have been getting on our PDA's?" Zhane asked as they sat down to eat. They were in a restaurant in the Sector 8 shopping district. They had come because Zack had wanted to buy Aeris a present and because Zhane wanted to get something for his family as well. "Do we have to accept them?"

"Not really." Zack told them. "The missions are just there incase you get bored."

"That's not true, Zack." Kunsel said. "The mission board is set up so that any Soldiers who wish to test themselves and seek greater challenges as well as recognition from the company can accept them. By completing each mission, you not only gain experience but also recognition from Director Lazard. Do enough of them and you might be promoted."

"Like I said, they're there if you're bored and got nothing better to do." Zack summarized.

"That's not the point though." Kunsel tried to explain. "Yes, if you're bored you can take them. But if you want to test yourself and reach higher levels, then the missions are for you to-"

"Stop trying to make them sound awesome." Zack cut in. He turned to look at the two Thirds. "They're glorified errands that Shinra doesn't want to waste precious resources on. Why send a battalion when one or two Soldiers will do and for a fraction of the cost?"

"Are there any good missions?" Cloud asked.

"Some…" Zack admitted. "I remember doing a lot of them before I became First."

"I'm actually scheduled to do one later tonight." Kunsel told them. "Routine patrol, nothing major. Just how I like 'em."

"I can see why you're still a second." Zhane commented, making Kunsel choke on his burger.

"Hey!"

"Look at this one." Zack said, showing them one that was on his PDA. "Who the hell is this 'Treasure Princess'? and why does she want me to go to the Chocobo Farms near the Midgar swamps?"

"It says here that she wants you to search for valuable treasure." Cloud read.

"Treasure? Like gold and jewels?" Zhane asked, obviously interested.

"Its probably a trick." Zack waved off. He bit into his Burger. "The last time I took a mission that said there was valuable items, all I found was a Fire Materia."

"Speaking of which, where can we buy more Materia?" Zhane asked.

"The Materia lab that's on the 49th floor has some…but you have to supply your own ore." Kunsel said. "Also there's shop in the Shinra building but their Materia is pretty basic."

"It sucks, is what he meant." Zack said. "Just come to my apartment here in Sector 8, I'll let you guys barrow as much as you like. I got tons."

"Seriously?" both teens asked, obviously happy with the news.

"Yea, its no problem. Just don't take any of the high level ones. Those are for me and my tough missions." Zack said.

"Alright then, thanks." Cloud said.

"Hey, do you mind if Cloud and I take this mission for you then? I'd like to see if there really is treasure." Zhane asked.

"Go for it. Just forward it to your PDA's and its yours. But don't say I didn't warn you." Zack said. He finished the last of his food and down his drink. "Alright. Lets go and hit the stores. I have a gift I need to buy!"

(/_\) (￣ー￣) (/_\)

For the next few hours, the four friends spent their time walking around the many stores in Sector 8. They had changed from their Soldier uniform and dressed in their casual clothes. Surprisingly, they all had similar tastes. They all wore blue jeans, except for Cloud, who wore shorts. Then Zack had on his favorite black long sleeve shirt. Cloud wore a white hooded jacket with a zipper. Zhane had on a plain white t and a necklace around his neck with an orange symbol on the tag. Kunsel wore a dark green t-shirt with a black jacket.

When the others had seen the symbol on Zhane's neck, they had asked what it was.

"It's the symbol for Courage." Zhane explained. "It was around my neck when the orphanage found me. They think it was a gift from my parents."

After that, they continued their way into stores, looking at the various trinkets and objects. Being in Soldier meant they got paid for each successful mission on top of receiving a salary. While their salary wasn't much, their Mission Paychecks were more like big fat bonuses. The Harder the mission, the bigger the check. And after surviving that last mission, they had a little extra spending money.

Zhane bought several bags of goodies like cookies, candies, and even toys for his brothers and sisters that he had waiting for him in the Sector 4 slums. He told his friends that once he saved up enough money that he would buy a house somewhere far away from Midgar, somewhere beautiful so that his brothers and sisters could live a happy life.

"Zack, now that I think about it…" Kunsel began as they exited the toy store. "What exactly are you gonna get for Aeris?" This question made the First stop in his tracks as he tried to come up with an answer. "You have no idea, do you?"

Zack grinned sheepishly. "Not really…" he admitted.

"What does Aeris like?" Cloud asked.

"Flowers…but she has a bunch of them already." Zack answered.

"What about clothes? Does she like a certain brand?" Kunsel asked.

"Not sure…she usually wears dresses…" Zack said.

"What about jewelry?" Zhane asked.

"Not sure…" Zack admitted.

"And you've dated her for how long now?" Zhane asked in disbelief.

"Hey, cut me some slack. I am in Soldier. I get called away for missions all the time. This is the first time since I joined that I've been given a week off." Zack defended. "I'm lucky just to have her wait for me all the time…that's why I want to get her a gift…to show her how much I appreciate what she does for me."

"Well as much as I admire you're feelings for her, I think its time that we admit that we're out of our element here…" Zhane said as he set his bags down. He pulled out his cell phone and began to dial.

"Who are you calling?" Zack asked.

"Shh…its ringing…" Zhane hushed him. After a moment he began talking. "Cissnei? Hi, how are you. I'm fine…thanks for asking…yea…yea…I know, right? Oh my god, you have to tell me all about it…" The three Soldiers all looked at him strangely but Zhane didn't seem to notice. "Listen…I'm calling because I need a big favor…no, not that…heh, not that either but thanks for offering, I'm sure that I can do that myself. What's the favor you ask?" he turned to stare directly at Zack. "Well you're not gonna believe this but our good friend Zack needs help on a very delicate and important mission. Yes, I know right? Did I mention that this will be dangerous? You might want to bring along some back up just incase. Alright then lets meet up at the bar you first met us. Alright, we'll see you there. Bye."

As soon as he hung up, Zack assaulted him with questions. "Whoa…calm down, man. Look I simply asked Cissnei for some back up." Zhane explained.

"What kind of back up? And what was all that dangerous talk about?" Kunsel asked.

"Well this is suppose to be about a gift for Zack's girlfriend right?" Zhane asked. "Well I just told Cissnei that we need her expert opinion and that we might need reinforcements."

"Why do I get the feeling that you only asked for backup to humiliate me?" Zack asked the younger Soldier.

Zhane actually had the decency to look offended. "Zack! I'm offended!" he cried in mock shock. "Why would you think that I, your friend who has your best interests at heart, would want to humiliate you?"

Cloud was the one who answered that one. "Don't buy it, Zack. He's said that one before…to me." Cloud sent a glare at his friend. "He said it just before he tried to trick me into being his wingman."

"Wingman?"

"Don't ask. Lets just go and get this over with…" Cloud said as he left.

"Cloud, I said I was sorry!" Zhane said as he picked up his bags. He turned to Zack and Kunsel. "That guy can sure hold a grudge…"

"What did you do to him?" they both asked.

"Sorry, I can't tell you. I promised I wouldn't." Zhane said. "Besides, I asked Cissnei to bring back up because I hoped she would bring Tomoyo along. The humiliation that may or may not occur is just a bonus."

"Oh wow, that makes me feel so much better." Zack said, clearly being sarcastic.

"You know…I was wondering why you had been talking to the Turk girls on the way back…" Kunsel said, remembering the trip. "I didn't know that you had actually gotten Cissnei's number."

"I'm not the only one who has her number." Zhane told them. "She gave it to Cloud as well."

"Really?" this interested Zack more than Kunsel. "Tell us more…"

"Well what happened was…"

(/_\) (￣ー￣) (/_\)

After dropping off Zhane's bags at his apartment (all Soldiers lived in the same building) and after raiding Zack's Materia (Kunsel got some too), the four friends made their way toward the bar. As they approached, they were surprised to see three stunning female Turks waiting for them at the entrance.

The first they noticed was Cissnei, her hair almost seemed to glow like fire in the street lights. She had forgone her uniform for something a little more appealing. She worn a white spaghetti strap blouse with a matching jacket. She also wore a white skirt with white high heels.

Beside her stood Rikku, wearing all black. She had on a blouse that showed off a bit of cleavage but not too much. She also had on a pair of tight jeans that stopped just above her ankles. And she also had black high heels and what Zhane thought was a hidden knife attached to her left ankle. Needless to say he would be on his best behavior tonight.

And the last one caught Zhane's eye. Tomoyo stood off to the side, not really interested in anything in particular. She had come dressed in a simple outfit. Blue t-shirt and blue jeans with a pair of tennis shoes. But despite that, Zhane was mesmerized. In his opinion, she was the most beautiful of the three.

"Wow…Cissnei, if I weren't already seeing someone I'd totally hit on you right now." Zack greeted the three Turks.

"Something tells me that you will anyways." Cissnei said with a smile.

"Hey, I'm very loyal. Almost like a dog." Zack complained.

"He's right you know, his nickname used to be 'puppy'." Kunsel said.

"Dude! You promised you wouldn't tell anyone!"

This caused the group to laugh as Zack looked embarrassed. Apparently not even the Turks knew that about him.

"Hey Tomoyo…what's up?" Zhane greeted the older woman.

"Not much…just came by because Cissnei here told me that we were going on a dangerous mission." Tomoyo said, turning to look at the young teen. "But by the looks of it, I'm here as her wingman while she tries to impress your friend there."

"Who? Zack? Nah, he's already dating someone." Zhane said, shaking his head.

This made Tomoyo smirk. "I wasn't talking about Zack."

"huh? Then who were you talking about?" Zhane asked.

"Come on…I'll tell you after you buy me a drink." Tomoyo said as she led him toward the bar.

"Alright, come on guys. Or else Tomoyo and Zhane are gonna leave us behind." Rikku said as she followed the two.

"Come on puppy…lets discuss your problem inside." Cissnei said as she dragged Zack inside.

Cloud and Kunsel simply watched as they were simply left behind. The two Soldiers glanced at one another before they began to turn around and walk away. But before they could take a single step, Rikku came outside and grabbed them by the collar of their shirts.

"Oh no you don't. If I'm getting drunk tonight, someone one's gonna have to pay for it." she said.

"But-"

"No buts. Let's go Soldier boys, its time to get our drink on!"

"Just go with it, Cloud." Kunsel advised the younger man. "We're not gonna be able to leave now even if we tried."

(/_\) (￣ー￣) (/_\)

"…and then I said, you are what you drink." Zhane was telling them all a joke while the sat down at shared a round of drinks. "And she got all offended and said, 'Are you calling me bitter?' and I couldn't help it, I grinned and said if the shoe fits."

This made everyone laugh as pictured the woman's reaction.

"What happened next?"

"She couldn't have taken that well."

"She didn't. She told me, 'Then I suppose you're so sweet cause you drink sweet things, right? Well guess what? You're not…you're a wienie.'"

"Was she calling you a-"

"hey now, don't ruin the joke. Anyways, I grinned at her and asked her if she was calling me a dick. But before I could finish my sentence, she slaps me!" Zhane laughed as he mimicked the slap. "She tells me that I shouldn't say such things in front of a lady!"

"Wow, what a bitch." Rikku said before she down her shot. "I would've slapped her back!"

"You know…women like that are so troublesome…" Tomoyo leaned closer to him, whispering in his ear. "I can see why you're more interested in a woman like me."

"You could tell?" he asked, not really surprised though that was probably due to the alcohol in his system.

"Of course…don't tell me you've forgotten the time we spent together already…" He shivered as he felt her warm breath on his ear. "After all this is over…lets you and me go…"

"Yo, Zhane, you alright? Your face is all red…" Cloud asked, noticing that his friend had gotten quiet, which wasn't often.

"Yea…I'm fine…" Zhane watched Tomoyo stand up and excuse herself from the table. She glanced over at Zhane for a moment before walking over to the booth. "Listen…I'm gonna…"

"Just go already…" Zack told him.

"yea, she's not gonna wait forever." Rikku added.

"Bye!" Zhane hurried over to Tomoyo's side and sat in the open seat beside her.

"Wow…I can't believe she's getting lucky tonight and I'm not." Rikku muttered into her cup.

"Well you could…" Cloud commented off handedly. It was an innocent comment, on not to be taken seriously. But in their drunken stupor, everyone got the wrong idea and stared wide eyed at Cloud. "What? Is there something on my face?"

"Not yet…" Rikku said as she closed the distance between them. She grabbed the side of his face and turned him toward her. "but there will be." then to everyone's surprise, she kissed him in front of everyone.

Zack and Kunsel congratulated the young Soldier, each giving their approval. The only one who didn't openly celebrate was the last remaining female in the group. Cissnei was stunned, for a lack of a better word, as she stared at her friend make out with the much younger blond Soldier.

As Rikku pulled back, they could all see her playful smirk. She had definitely enjoyed it and she looked hungry for more. Cloud on the other hand had obviously never been kissed before because he sat there, frozen, as he stared at the Turk beside him.

"Wow…" he finally breathed out.

"Trust me, you're gonna be saying more than that when I'm done with you." Rikku promised. Then she reached for her cup and poured herself another shot. "Cheers!"

"Cheers!" they agreed.

That night had been one spent among friends, both old and new. And despite meeting to help Zack get a present, they ended up doing something entirely different. The next morning, when Zack woke up. He was surprised to find a small wrapped box on his chest with a card from Cissnei.

"What the…" he grabbed the card and opened it. There was a short message from Cissnei.

_Hope Aeris likes her gift._

_-Cissnei_

Zack carefully opened the present and found that inside there was a little silver charm bracelet with three charms. The first charm was the head of Moogle. The second had a small heart. And the last was of a Chocobo. That one made him laugh. The Chocobo's head reminded him of Cloud.

"Thanks Cissnei…I owe you one."

(/_\) (￣ー￣) (/_\)

Zack opened the door of the church and he was happy to find Aeris already there, tending to the flower bed. As quietly as he could, he made his way to her. It had become sort of a game for them. He would try and sneak up on her and she would hear him almost 20 feet away. And right as he reached the 20ft mark, she turned around and smiled.

"Zack! You're back!" Aeris smiled as she hurried to his side.

Grinning from ear to ear, Zack scooped her up in his arms as she spun her around once. Then as he placed her back down, he leaned in and placed a gentle kiss on her lips. This caught her by surprise but she returned the kiss.

One of the bad things about being in Soldier was that he was robbed of time he could spend with Aeris instead. As they parted, Aeris leaned into his chest and sighed happily. He loved seeing her like that.

"Not that I'm complaining but what's the occasion?" she asked with a giggle.

"I wanted to show you that I appreciate everything that you've done for me…" Zack whispered in her ear.

"oh Zack…you don't have to do that…"

"No, I do…" Zack pulled her in a bit more, making sure not to cause her any discomfort. "Life is short…especially if you're in Soldier…if anything ever happens to me, I want you to know that I never take you for granted…"

"Oh Zack…"

"You're the reason why I try and finish my mission so quickly…you're the reason I fight so hard to survive. So that I can come back to you."

"What happened?" she could feel his heart beat. She knew something had happened on his last mission.

"Two Soldiers died…"

Aeris gasped. "It wasn't the two new boys was it?"

Zack shook his head. "Zhane and Cloud are fine…in fact…they were the ones who killed the two Soldiers that died."

"Oh my god…why? What happened?"

Zack released a heavy sigh. "Essai…and Sebastian…they had been captured and for three weeks they had been tortured, experimented on, and eventually brainwashed. They attacked Zhane and Cloud and nearly killed them. I wasn't able to save them…"

"Oh Zack…" Aeris led him to one of the wooden benches and sat him down beside her. "Don't blame yourself…you did the best that you could…"

"But if I had only hurried…maybe I…" but Zack couldn't come up with an answer.

"Don't beat yourself up over this…Essai and Sebastian wouldn't have wanted you to blame yourself…" Aeris wrapped her arms around him and placed his head on her shoulders. "What Cloud and Zhane fought…it wasn't them…they would never betray you like that…"

She felt him shudder in her arms, she could feel his warm tears spilling over. "Essai and Sebastian died before you ever arrived…and they were grateful that you tried so hard to save them…" she wasn't lying to him, everything she said had been the truth. And she could tell that Zack believed her. "They never lost their Soldier honor…they wanted you to know that…"

Zack pulled away at that moment to look at her, his eyes wet and full of tears. He was shocked that she could say that with such conviction, with such doubtfulness. "Aeris…"

"They wanted to tell you…no, they wanted to order you to never forget your Soldier Honor. And also, to remind you to embrace your dreams…" she wasn't sure why she was saying those things but for some reason it felt like the right thing to say.

As Zack sat there, his sorrow was soon forgotten as he stared at his girlfriend. Those words helped ease his mind and calm his heart. It had been something that he needed to hear, despite not knowing it himself.

Zack gently wrapped his arms around her and pulled her into his chest. And once again, he kissed her with all the passion he could muster. Aeris melted into the kiss and responded in kind, showing him that she was there and that she would always be there for him.

As he pulled back, Zack reached into his pocket and presented her with her gift. She took it before kissing him back. There would be time to open gifts later, for now it time to spend some time with her man.

(/_\) (￣ー￣) (/_\)

Zhane whistled as he exited the train at the Sector 4 Slums Station. He was dressed in his Solder uniform without his helmet. In his arms he held several bags with the presents he had bought the night before.

"So this is where your siblings live?" Zhane turned to look at Tomoyo. She was dressed in her Turk uniform and had pushed some hair out of her face. At that moment, a breeze passed by and her hair blew in the wind. "What? Still recovering from our sparring session last night?"

"Huh? Um…no, I'm fine. But yea, this is where they live." Zhane snapped out of his thoughts. "My brothers and I pay an elderly couple to look out for them. Its been hard earning money but now that we're in Soldier its been a lot easier."

"You know…I never pictured you for the fatherly type." Tomoyo confessed. "But its sweet that you care so much about them."

"Thanks…I think…"

The two made their way down several blocks to an apartment complex near the commercial district of Sector 4 Slums. As they approached the entrance of the building, Zhane was rushed by three young kids. The first was a young girl about 10 years old with short brown hair and chocolate brown eyes. The second was a boy about 12 years old with messy black hair and bright green eyes. The last boy looked about 13 years old and had short dark blue hair similar to Zhane. He had blue eyes that looked similar to Zhane's except without the Mako glow.

"Big brother!" the three of them shouted.

"Hey guys! Its good to finally see you guys again." Zhane knelt down before embracing all three of his siblings. With his new found strength, he lifted them up in the air. "Its been so long since I last saw you guys!"

"Zhane, who's the chick behind you?" the oldest of the three asked.

"Hikari, Tyson, Kai, I'd like you to meet my good friend, Tomoyo." Zhane introduced his family to his friend. "Tomoyo…I'd like you to meet Hikari, Tyson, and Kai."

"Hello pretty lady…are Zhane's girlfriend?" Hikaru asked as she stood in front of Tomoyo.

Tomoyo smiled as she knelt in front of the young girl. "Sorry but I'm not dating your brother." she glanced up at Zhane. "But if he behaves and does what he's told then who know? Anything is possible."

"Hear that, bro? you just got to do as your told." Tyson said excitedly.

"Wow you're dumb…" Kai said. Being older, he understood more about girls than his young brother, or so he thought. "There's no way Zhane is gonna do as he's told…remember when Ken and Davis tried to get him to behave? He couldn't even last 5 minutes!" Kai then looked at Tomoyo as if studying her. "Besides, she's not that pretty."

This earned him a smack on the back of the head. "Don't be rude." Zhane scolded him.

"Its alright." Tomoyo assured. "besides, its obvious he's just looking out for his brother."

"Well I don't believe it…"

"Me neither…"

Zhane suddenly smiled as he turned around. "I know those voices anywhere!"

Walking toward them were two Third Class Soldiers who were also holding several shopping bags in their arms. The tallest of the two had short dark violet hair and the kindest expression anyone had ever seen. The second had spiky brown hair and had a confident look similar to the one Zhane normally wore.

"Ken, Davis! You guys made it back!" Zhane high fived his brothers after they set down their bags.

"Of course we made it back, it was just an escort mission." Ken, the violet haired Soldier, said. "Why would you think we wouldn't come back?"

"Yea, did your mission scare you or something?" Davis asked.

"You guys aren't gonna believe what happened to me…" Zhane began but stopped as he felt tugging on his pants. Looking down, he saw Hikari looking up at him.

"Big brother…I'm hungry…" she held her stomach as it growled.

"I think its best if we go inside and give them something to eat." Tomoyo said as she picked the little girl up. "Come on, dear, lets see if there's anything to make."

"Okay!" Hikaru could be heard talking happily with Tomoyo as they entered the building.

"Whoa, who was that?" Davis asked after Tomoyo had left.

"She's not with you is she?" Ken asked.

"She's Zhane girlfriend…" Kai muttered as he picked up some of the bags. "but I don't think she's worth his time."

"Dude, not cool." Zhane scolded. "What have we been teaching you kids all these years?"

Kai glanced over his shoulder, giving Zhane a look that said 'Do I really have to spell it out for you?'

Zhane noticed the look and chuckled sheepishly. "Heh…never mind."

"Don't change the subject, is she really your girlfriend?" Davis asked after Kai and Tyson had left.

"No…Tomoyo is just a friend." Zhane explained.

"Tomoyo, eh?" Davis gave his brother a knowing smirk.

"She's a Turk, isn't she?" Ken asked after remembering where he had seen that uniform before.

"Yea…she was assigned to the mission I was just on. We become friends after sparring against one another. She's actually been teaching me how to become a better fighter." Zhane bent down and picked up the rest of the bags. "Its actually paying off too. Yesterday I tied with Cloud during out spar."

"Seriously?" Davis asked in disbelief. "Do you think that you could teach me some moves?"

"Why? didn't you rank 3rd in our class?" Zhane asked as they headed inside.

"Yea but you were still the better hand to hand fighter." Davis said.

"So how many times have you two sparred?" Ken asked all of a sudden.

"Huh? Oh um…like three times…" Zhane said. "Why?"

"No reason…" Ken then walked passed them. "I think I'd like to get to know her better. After all, if she's gonna be sparring with my brother then I want to make sure that he doesn't get hurt."

"Dude, its sparring. And she hits pretty hard…" Zhane tried to explain. "I'm gonna get hurt, trust me. I know what I'm talking about."

"Apparently you don't." Ken said as he turned around. His voice was still calm as usual but his eyes showed something that neither teen had seen before. "This is the type of sparring injury that can't be cured with a simple Cure spell. Some hurts can't be healed with magic."

"What are you talking about?" Davis asked, confused.

"You're not talking about sparring anymore, are you?" Zhane asked.

"Never mind…if you can't see underneath the underneath then there's no point in telling you." Ken continued to the apartment.

"What the hell was that about?" Davis asked.

"I'm not exactly sure…" Zhane began slowly. Ken was the brightest of their class, graduated first overall. He was second to Zhane in hand to hand and first in Intelligence gathering and Stealth. After knowing him for over ten years, Zhane knew that when Ken talked about something, he would never be direct. It just wasn't his nature. So that meant that Ken saw something that he himself didn't. But the question was what? "…but I'm tired…last night Tomoyo was teaching me how to improve my defenses with an improved version of what they taught us back in training…I'm so sore…"

(/_\) (￣ー￣) (/_\)

"So you work for Shinra as well?" Yoshino asked. She was an elderly woman in her 50's. she was sitting across the table from Tomoyo. "Then you must get to work with my Zhane. After all, how else would you get to know him otherwise?"

"Actually, I first caught him snooping around the base." Tomoyo said. This came to no surprise to Yoshino as she chuckled.

"Yes, that doesn't surprise me. Zhane always did have a knack for getting into trouble." Yoshino glanced over at Zhane who sat beside Tyson and Kai. "You'd think that becoming Soldier would instill some maturity in him."

"Come on, granny…I'm not that bad…" Zhane muttered as he lowered his head. "You'd be surprise how many Soldiers possess very little to no maturity at all." Tomoyo said, smiling at Zhane. "In fact, Zhane's friend, Zack, is the second strongest Soldier and he's worse than Zhane is. He gets into more trouble than he can handle."

"But Zhane doesn't get into trouble, he goes looking for it." Yoshino turned back to Tomoyo. "Did he tell you how I came to care for these kids?"

"Yes but I'm sure that your version will be much more enlightening." Tomoyo said, wanting to hear more.

"Well it all happened back when Zhane was 4..."

As the story went on, Zhane slowly began to get up and exit the room. In the living room he found Shikaku, Yoshino's husband, playing chess with Ken while Davis watched.

"She telling embarrassing stories about you, son?" the older man asked.

"Yup…she's telling her how we first met." Zhane sat down on the couch beside Davis.

"Why'd you bring her?" Davis asked.

"She wanted to come…and she can kick my ass, I wasn't gonna tell her no." Zhane said, not really sure why she did.

"I thought Soldiers were suppose to be all strong and powerful?" Shikaku asked.

"We are…" Ken told him. "But we're not invincible…there are those who can match and even beat Soldier members."

"And Tomoyo happens to be one of them." Zhane added. "Last night was awesome…I learned so much…but it hurt…"

"You are such a masochist." Shikaku shook his head. "You should be ashamed of yourself."

"What? It was only sparring!" Zhane whined.

"Do I look like a fool to you?" Shikaku moved his rook into place. "Checkmate."

"You win again…" Ken said, conceding defeat.

"Anyways, I know what's going on here. All I'm gonna say is be careful. Woman can be treacherous creatures at the best of times. But if you treat them right then even the strongest woman will be gentle with her man."

"We're not dating, gramps."

"Not yet. But one day."

"You do remember that I'm in Soldier, right? I'm not gonna be able to maintain a normal relationship even if I could date."

"He's right, we can get called away for a mission at any moment." Davis added.

"Perhaps not a normal relationship…" Shikaku admitted. He glanced over at the kitchen door, listening to the ladies' laughter. "But if she works in the same way that you do, then perhaps you can have an abnormal relationship."

This got the three boys roaring with laughter. "Do you even listen to yourself speak anymore, gramps?" Zhane managed to ask.

"Not really…I stopped trying to make sense of what came out of my mouth years ago. Its like its got a mind of its own." Shikaku then stood up. "Come…I think its time I gave you boys the talk."

"Again? You've given it to us like 12 times…" Davis groaned.

"Yea, and each time you try and tell us something gross you did with granny the week before." Zhane added.

"At least he's trying to be informative…" Ken added weakly. Out of the three of them, Ken was always the nice one. He would never be disrespectful toward anyone in any way. Unfortunately for him, there were times like these when he wished he was more like his brothers.

"See? At least one of you appreciates my efforts." Shikaku said, beaming at Ken.

"That's cause Ken is secretly closet pervert." Davis muttered to Zhane, whispering low enough so that Shikaku wouldn't hear. But not low enough to escape Ken's hearing.

"I am not!"

"Then why is your face all red?"

"What's going on, did I miss something?" Kai asked as he walked into the room.

"Ah, Kai, come with us. I think its time you heard the talk as well."

"NO!" the three Soldiers shouted at once.

Kai just stood there as he stared at the old people in the room, wondering if he would become weird like them once he grew up.

**End of chapter. **

Well what did you think? Tried to shed some back story for the characters. We're gonna be exploring Cloud's story in the next chapter after we find out what happened to him that night at the bar.

Also as you could probably tell, this chapter was pretty long. I could've easily split this into three or four chapters. So my question is this; do you prefer long chapters or short ones? The short one will probably be updated more frequently as they will only be like three or four pages. Its up to you, if you don't like the long chapters cause its too much to read then I'll shorten them. But if you're like me and you enjoy a good long chapter then I'll make them like this one.

Well till next time.


	11. Treasure Princess

**I don't own FF7.**

**Well here's the next installment of Soldier. This chapter is more of a filler than anything. Its not really relevant to the main plot but it does show you how the characters interact with one another in their down time. After all, they're not always gonna be in life threatening situations. **

**Anyways, as you can probably tell from the name of the chapter, Yuffie will be making an appearance. After all, she does appear in game. While she will have a minor role, she will be somewhat important later on. Plus I couldn't resist not using her, she's like one of my favorite characters from FF7. I'm actually surprised that there's hardly any Yuffie/Cloud pairings on this site. don't get me wrong, I'm not big on pairings. In fact, most of the time pairings seem to ruin a good story because the author focuses more on the pairing than they do on the plot. But still, I do have a preference for that pairing. Its just surprising that most would pair Yuffie with Vincent instead of Cloud. Vincent is like 40 years older than she is, plus he's madly in love with Lucrecia. Maybe its just me but Vincent doesn't seem like he's ever gonna get over her. **

**But that's beside the point. At one point or another, I'm probably gonna add all of the characters from the FF7 game in here. Not sure when though. As for pairings, aside from Zack/Aeris, there really isn't gonna be any. There might be some hook ups but that's it. Like I said before, most of the time pairings just seem to ruin the story and I try to avoid that as much as possible. **

**Well enough about me. Lets get on with the sho-,I mean, chapter. Enjoy!**

**Soldier **

**Chapter 11: Treasure Princess**

Cloud groaned as he woke up with a splitting headache. He promised himself that he would never drink again. He regretted ever accepting the drinking contested started by Rikku and Zhane. Damn peer pressure…

He got up and entered the shower, vaguely aware that he was already undressed. As he cool water cascaded on his head, Cloud tried to recall what had occurred the night before. He remembered drinking until the contest they had. After that it was all a blur. He got random images of flesh and panting but that was it. He was at a loss to what it all meant.

After rinsing off, he stepped out of his shower and began to dry himself. He had his back turned to the door as he reached down to dry his legs, bending down in the process.

"Mama likes what she sees…"

Cloud froze.

"I gotta admit, for a virgin, you sure knew what you were doing…"

Rikku walked in front of the sink and began to brush her teethe. Cloud slowly stood up and wrapped the towel around his waist. He glanced over his shoulder and was glad to see that Rikku was semi dressed, wearing his white t-shirt and panties.

"Um…did we…?"

"Huh? Did we fuck? Yea and you were amazing." Rikku nodded. She spat into the sink before rinsing her mouth with mouth wash. "I swear, I never thought you'd last as long as you did. You and your…_Chocobo_ that you have hidden behind that towel."

"Um…thanks…" Cloud wasn't sure what to say. He honestly felt embarrassed, for several reasons, chief among them that he couldn't remember what he had done after he returned to his apartment.

"What's with the face? Don't tell me that you regret it." Rikku poked his chest with her finger.

"No, its just…I don't remember any of it…sorry…" Cloud confessed, not wanting to upset the Turk.

"That's a shame…you had a blockbuster performance." Rikku remarked. She had a look in her eyes that made Cloud feel uneasy. It reminded him of how a predator looked right before they lunged at their prey. She placed her hands on his chest, gently pushed him back into the shower. "How about we perform an encore?" she reached for his towel, already feeling his body stiffen. "I promise you won't soon forget it…"

Cloud could only gulp as she pressed her lips, and body, against his.

(/_\) (￣ー￣) (/_\)

Yo, Cloud, what kept ya?" Zhane asked as he stood by the briefing room. He had been waiting for Cloud to arrive for over an hour.

Cloud walked slowly as if his mind were deep in thought. He seemed to be battling with himself over something and Zhane immediately grew concerned.

Zhane pulled Cloud to the side, making sure that they wouldn't be overheard. "Hey man, is everything alright?"

As he placed his hand on Cloud's shoulder, the blond finally looked up at his friend and said in all seriousness. "I was raped…"

This was the last thing Zhane had ever expected Cloud to say, ever. Needless to say, he was at a loss. "Come again…"

"I was raped…by Rikku." Cloud repeated a bit more slowly this time.

The calmness of Cloud's voice and his expression were too much for Zhane. "What?" he asked once more, clearly having trouble understanding the words that were coming out of his friend's mouth.

"I was raped by Rikku. Both last night and this morning." Cloud repeated.

This time Zhane heard him and he wasn't sure whether to laugh or be concerned. "You were raped by Rikku…" he repeated just to make sure he understood correctly.

"Yes." Cloud nodded.

"How?" Zhane asked, still not fully comprehending the situation.

"Well last night after-"

"Not that! I know the how but how did she rape you? Did she force you? Did she drug you? Did you say no and she did it anyway?" Zhane elaborated. And then he asked the most important question. "And why the hell do you think she raped you? You should be happy! Rikku is hot!"

Cloud remained silent for a moment as he considered his words. After a minute of waiting, he looked up at his friend. "She didn't drug me…I didn't say no…but she was a bit forceful…during…you know…" then he added. "I feel violated…"

"Cloud, my friend, only you could get taken advantage of and not feel like the luckiest guy who ever lived." Zhane shook his head. "You're so naïve…if I were a woman, I'd totally bang you."

"Whoa there…" Davis said as he stopped a few feet from them. "Am I interrupting something?"

"I didn't know you two were lovers? Is that why you aren't dating Tomoyo?" Ken asked.

"Its not what it looks like." Zhane tried but his brothers quickly backed away.

"Its okay…we won't judge you." Ken said.

"Yea, if you're gay its okay. We love you all the same. Just not with our junk." Davis added.

"I swear to god I will kill you two if you don't stop and hear me out." Zhane swore. Then he turned to Cloud. "Is it okay if I tell them?"

"Sure…just so long as they can keep it secret." Cloud nodded.

"Alright, come 'ere you two. You have got to listen to this." Zhane said as he motioned his brothers to come closer.

"I swear, if your hand reaches for the valuables, I'm cutting it off." Davis muttered.

It took a few moment to explain but once Zhane was done, both Ken and Davis stared at Cloud with unreadable expression before they started roaring with laughter.

"Oh my effing god!" Davis clutched his sides as he laughed. "Cloud, you are without a doubt the luckiest sum'bitch in the world!"

"That's what I said!" Zhane said.

"So I wasn't raped?" Cloud asked them, slightly confused about the whole situation.

"Wow, Zhane was right. If I were a girl, I'd totally bang you as well. You're just too effing adorable." Davis admitted.

"See? Its not just me." Zhane looked at Cloud, as if examining. "It probably has something to do with his hair…doesn't it remind you of a Chocobo?"

"You know…now that you mention it…it kind of does…" Ken agreed.

"She called my…little Cloud…a Chocobo…" Cloud confided in his friends.

This made the three of the erupt in a fit of giggles. "So…" Zhane began. "I gather she meant its big, like a Chocobo, then?"

"How can you tell? It looks normal to me…" Cloud asked.

This was too much. Cloud was just to innocent for his own good. "That's it. We have to start teaching Cloud everything that we were taught while growing up." Zhane told his brothers. He walked over to Cloud and pulled him into this chest, embracing him protectively. "This poor boy has been depraved of life's lessons and its up to us, his good friends, to teach them to him."

"You know…I bet gramps could probably give Cloud the talk if we asked him too." Davis said thoughtfully. "I mean, he's been giving us the talk since we were 6 and we turned out fine."

"Um…I'd rather not." Cloud said as he pulled himself away from Zhane.

"Don't worry…I'm sure that three of us can come up with a way to teach Cloud everything that he needs to know while we're on our mission." Ken said as he walked toward the Briefing room. "Come on, we don't want to keep the pilot waiting."

"Why do I have the feeling that I'm going to turn out like Zhane when you're done teaching me 'Life's Lessons'?" Cloud asked.

"Hey, would that really be so bad?" Zhane asked.

"Just keep walking." Davis said as he pushed Zhane. "One of you is bad enough. We don't need two. Plus, we've heard all of the trouble you keep dragging poor Cloud into. I'm actually surprised he's still your best friend."

"Sometimes I wonder that myself…" Cloud admitted. "But then I think about how Zhane helped me pass the Soldier program…he's troublesome at times…well all of the time…but he's a good friend."

"Ah…thanks pal…" Zhane gave Cloud a large grin. "It means a lot coming from you."

"Come on, lets go."

"Hey! Quit shoving! Is this any way to treat your older brother?" Zhane complained.

"I thought I was the older brother?" Cloud heard Ken asked from the Briefing room as the two entered.

"No, I am." Davis said.

"You wish, I'm the oldest."

"No, I am."

"Wasn't it me?"

"Not a chance in hell/Fat chance."

Cloud sighed as he listened to them argue about who was the oldest among them. These were the people who were supposedly going to teach him Life's Lessons, whatever they were. He was doomed.

(/_\) (￣ー￣) (/_\)

"So this is the famous Chocobo Farm?" Davis asked as he inspected the farm. He could see the large silo and red barn as well as a large pen that held a bunch of Chocobo.

"Dude, look at that! They're all staring at Cloud!" Zhane shouted, his grin widening as he watched Cloud. "They think he's one of them!"

"I think you're right…" Ken said as he watched Cloud stare back at the Chocobo.

"They have blue eyes…" Cloud said in astonishment.

"Its like staring at a sea of Clouds." Zhane commented as he stood by his friend.

"It must be a dream come true since you said you'd bang him, Zhane." Davis added as he placed his arm around Zhane's shoulder. "Now you can ride him and not feel like you're having gay sex."

"I wouldn't be talking if I were you, dude, you said you'd bang him too, remember?" Zhane recalled. "And after that comment, I'm never gonna ride a Chocobo. I'll keep thinking that I'm riding Cloud if I do."

"Actually…I don't think I'll ride one either…" Cloud agreed. "I don't want to know what its like to ride myself…"

"Wow…that gives playing with yourself new meaning." Davis chuckled.

"Not that its not fun and all but we do have a job to do." Ken reminded them. "After all, Zhane, it was your idea to get us to come along."

"Well if this turned out to be a trap, I wanted to have some back up." Zhane explained. "I seriously don't want to die just cause of some stupid mission."

"Hey you, get away from the Chocobo!"

The four Soldiers turned to see a young boy about 8 years old running at them with a pitch fork in his hands. He aimed to stab Zhane in the chest but the Soldier simply grabbed the tip and held it in place, causing the boy to stumble and fall.

"You okay, kid?"

"What are you doing here?" the kid asked. "We're here to investigate a rumor about some treasure that's suppose to be hidden on this farm." Ken explained as he helped the boy up. "We mean you no harm."

"Oh…in that case, then you're looking for that girl that won't leave." the boy said, sounding annoyed. "All she's been yammering on about is Materia this, Materia that! I reckon she's the one you're after."

"Girl? You don't mean…"

The four Soldiers turned to look at one another before pulling out their PDA's at the same time. Zhane was the first to look back at the kid. "You have got to be kidding me…the Treasure Princess is a freaking kid?"

"Come on, I'll show ya to her." the kid said as he led the way back to the house.

(/_\) (￣ー￣) (/_\)

"What?" the brown haired girl asked.

The four Soldiers stared down at an 11 year old girl who appeared to be from Wutai. She wore a green sleeveless hoodie that revealed her midriff with a yellow button-up vest over the top. She had on orange shorts with a green rope tied around her waist. Her shorts were peculiar because of the external pockets there extended beyond the pant legs. She also wore a plain white headband around her forehead and white wristbands.

"What?" she repeated, obviously annoyed that the Soldiers in front of her wouldn't speak. "Oh I get it, I'm not what you expected, am I?" she accused them, jabbing a finger in Cloud's direction. "I know what you were thinking! Perverts!"

"Okay, one, we're not perverts…" Zhane said. "Second, we were expecting the Treasure Princess…not her dorky little sister…"

"Hey! I'm not dorky!" the girl whined. "My name is Yuffie Kisaragi, the single White Rose of Wutai!"

"So you're the one who sent us that mission request?" Davis asked, clearly not happy with the turn of events. "is there even a treasure?"

"Of course! Why else would I bother putting up a request?" Yuffie asked.

"Then? Where is it?" Zhane asked.

"Its near the mountains to the west of here. Near the marshlands…" Yuffie said, pulling out her map. She placed it on the table and began scanning it. "I think…its…here!" she pointed at a seemingly random spot on the map.

"Can you even read that?" Davis asked.

"Here, let me." Cloud said kindly. He glanced over the map and noticed that it was written in another language, not from Midgar nor Wutai. "This map is old…very old…"

"No duh, Chocobo hair!" Yuffie scoffed. "I got it from my pop's library."

"Speaking of which…how did you get here?" Ken asked, wondering how an 11 year old girl could get from Wutai to literally the other side of the planet.

"I…um…I…sorta stowed away…"

"You mean to tell us that you came all this way without a way to get back home?" Zhane asked. When the girl didn't answer, he laughed. "Wow…and I thought I was bad."

"You're a jerk!" Yuffie shouted before storming off.

"I think you offended her…" Cloud said as she slammed the door to the room she had been staying at.

"I can see that…" Zhane muttered as he followed. He knocked once before he heard Yuffie shout to go away. "Come on…open up. Or else I'll just break it down. Trust me, its not that hard."

After a moment, he heard footsteps before the door opened. He walked inside and saw that the room was seemingly bare. She really had come all that way without a way back. He was sure that she hadn't even brought money with her.

"How long have you been staying here for?" he asked.

"About a week…" Yuffie answered. She closed the door before sitting down on the bed.

"Look…I'm sorry if I made you upset. Believe me, it wasn't my intention to make you cry." Zhane apologized.

"It alright…you were right anyways…I'm stuck here…I was hoping that you'd arrive a lot sooner. I sent that message days ago." Yuffie told him. "I've been here for 6 days. The old man was kind enough to let me stay here for free…"

"Why did you come out here for anyways?" Zhane asked, curious.

"I came here looking for the treasure…I want to find…the most amazing Materia in the world so that I can restore Wutai to its former glory." Yuffie looked up at Zhane. "I want to do what my father won't."

"I'm not sure about all that…but if its Materia you want…" Zhane reached into his pocket. He handed it to Yuffie. "Here you go…I have an extra. Its yours."

Yuffie's eyes widened as she stared at the green orb in her hands. "What is it?" she asked, her voice barely above a whisper.

"its call Cure. With it you can start to restore Wutai." Zhane told her. "It has the power to heal wounds, both old and new. And in the right hands, it can repair even damaged souls." he patted her head. "All it takes is a good heart."

Grinning from ear to ear, Yuffie leaped up and hugged Zhane. "Thank you! This is the greatest present anyone has ever given me!"

Zhane smiled. "You're welcome." he said as he hugged her back. What could he say? He was sucker for little kids. They reminded him of his siblings back in Midgar. "Now come on, we have a treasure to find."

Yuffie smiled as she nodded. "Okay!"

(/_\) (￣ー￣) (/_\)

Ken and Cloud examined the map together while Davis checked over their supplies. While they didn't recognize the language, they had been taught to read maps. As best as they could tell, the map pointed them toward the marshlands just as Yuffie had said. But it also meant that they would have to cross the Marshes and they would only do that with a Chocobo.

"Dude…I'm not paying just so that I can ride you, Cloud." Davis commented as he finished.

"Haha, very funny." Cloud said, not even bothering to look up. "We're definitely gonna need some Chocobo…if Yuffie comes with us, then we'll need five."

"Screw that. Just have her ride with Zhane." Davis said.

"I agree with Davis. Perhaps it would be best if she rode with one of us." Ken said. He pointed to a spot on the marshlands that had a symbol that looked eerily like a serpent. "I think that the Marshes are home to the Midgar Zolom…"

"Midgar Zolom?" they both asked.

"I've read about them once but only in passing. They're said to be powerful creatures that roam the marshes. They lie in wait until someone is foolish enough to enter and then they strike. Supposedly only a Chocobo can out run them."

"Do you think that we can take it?" Davis asked.

"I don't know…probably not." Ken shook his head. "They're suppose to be incredibly powerful. To this day, there hasn't been a single instance where someone has actually killed one."

"Alright, then we won't fight it. I'll go and ask the farmer how much he would charge us for four Chocobo." Davis said.

"I'll come with you. I want to see if he can tell us anymore on the Zolom." Ken said.

Cloud stayed behind and stared at the map a little longer. He didn't know why but he had a bad feeling about this mission.

"Where'd everyone else go?"

Looking up, Cloud saw Zhane walk out of the room with Yuffie in tow. He was curious as to what his friend had done to cheer the young up but thought better of it. "Davis went to see if we could rent some Chocobo to cross the Marshes. Looks like we're gonna need them to get past the Midgar Zolom."

"The what?"

"The Midgar Zolom. it's a giant serpent that's very powerful. At least that's what Ken said."

"Well if Ken's the one who said it then it must be true." Zhane reasoned. "So basically we have to ride you to get across the swamp huh?"

"Not you too."

"Sorry pal, couldn't resist."

"You never can, can you?"

"You know me too well."

"Sometimes I wonder if that's a good thing."

"Wait, we have to ride the Chocobo here in order to cross the marshes?" Yuffie asked as she stared up at Cloud.

"No, we're riding the Chocobo outside." Zhane clarified. "And his name is Cloud. Don't call him Chocobo. He's sensitive about that."

"I'll call them as I sees them. And I sees him as a Chocobo." Yuffie said in a tone that was all too familiar to the two friends.

They glanced at one another before cracking up in laughter, much to the confusion of the young girl. "hey are you guys making fun of me!"

(/_\) (￣ー￣) (/_\)

Cloud led the group through the marches as the ran at full speed, their Chocobo barely outrunning the Midgar Zolom. The legends had been right. As soon as one stepped in the marshes, the Midgar Zolom would come slithering its way toward you.

Cloud glanced over his shoulder, making sure that Yuffie was still holding on. She was gripping tightly around his waist, holding on for dear life. A few yards behind him, he could see Zhane, Davis, and Ken firing off whatever spells they could to try and slow the Zolom down. He just hoped that it wouldn't chase them once they reached land.

"Cloud, watch out!"

Cloud heard Zhane shout but it was too late. He turned around just in time to see second Midgar Zolom rise up from the marshes, hissing loudly with its fangs bared. Cloud pulled on the reins and made his Chocobo swerve out of the way just time to avoid being eaten. But unfortunately Zhane's Chocobo was struck and they came crashing down.

"Zhane!" Cloud stopped his Chocobo with the intention of going to help his friend.

"Keep going!" Zhane shouted as he pulled out his sword. "Don't let Yuffie get hurt!"

Hearing Yuffie's name reminded him she was still with him and that she was also in danger. With a nod, Cloud turned around and urged his Chocobo to find land. Moments later, he heard Ken and Davis coming up behind him. He glanced toward them, asking them the unasked question. When neither chose to answer him, Cloud lowered his head down in sadness.

But Cloud wasn't given the chance to dwell on his thoughts as they heard one of the Midgar Zoloms making its way toward them. Knowing that they wouldn't be able to out run it, they made their way toward the nearest patch of dry land and leaped off their Chocobo.

"Yuffie, stay here and protect the Chocobo," Cloud told her. "We're counting on you!"

The three Soldiers glared at the large serpent as it slithered on to the dray land. It was definitely as large as the legends said it was. And up close, it was definitely intimidating. But they didn't care, they avenge their fallen brother and friend no matter what.

Cloud started things off, leaping at the large serpent, aiming to stab into the Zolom's belly. But he was swatted away by the monster's tail. Ken aimed his hand toward the Zolom and unleashed a barrage of Fireballs. Davis followed suit and cast Thunder. The spells made contact and the Zolom growled in pain. It lunged at the two Soldiers but missed as they leaped out of the way.

Cloud focused on the new Materia he had gotten from Zack and leaped at the Zolom once more. "Blizzara Blade!" Cloud's sword became engulfed by an icy white aura and as the blade made contact with the large creature, part of its body was frozen.

It roared in pain as it reeled its head back. Ken saw this and immediately came to a conclusion.

"Its cold blooded! It can't stand the cold!" Ken shouted.

They immediately began to bombard the Zolom with Blizzard spells but it was having little affect. Their spells weren't strong enough. Cloud was the only one who had a spell that could damage the monster.

"Cover me, I'm going in!"

Cloud jumped over the monster's tail smash and came down with an icy stab, freezing the tip of the tail. Then as the Zolom roared in agony, Cloud stabbed the head of his blade into the side of creature and ran up, cutting his way toward the head. With a vicious roar, the Zolom lunged at Cloud.

Cloud saw this and jumped off just in time to avoid being eaten. He landed in a crouch before he pushed off once again. As he flew through the air, he focused on the Blizzara blade Materia and raised his sword above his head. As the Midgar Zolom turned its head toward him, Cloud brought his blade with all the strength he could muster. With anger fueling his strength, Cloud sliced through the snout of the large serpent, leaving a large gash across its face.

The creature shrieked in pain as it thrashed around. Cloud came close to being crushed beneath the creature's massive torso but he was saved by Ken. The Zolom roared and cried, but as it did, it turned to face the one person who had not attacked it. Yuffie shrieked in fear as she gazed into the eyes of the serpent that towered over her.

Cloud knew she was too scared to move and without hesitation, he rushed in to save her. Ken and Davis thought the same and hurried to her side. But the Zolom saw them and as it snapped its head toward them, it fired off a blast of energy from its mouth. Cloud raised his arms over his head and barreled through the explosion. But Ken and Davis hadn't been so lucky.

As he got back to his feet, Cloud pulled out off his sword from his back and leaped in front of Yuffie. "Yuffie, run!" Cloud shouted as he faced off against the monster.

The Zolom glared at Cloud, it obviously recognized that Cloud had been responsible for the damage it had taken. With a mighty shriek, it lunged downward and Cloud raised his blade up to meet it. There was a collision of metal and scale as Cloud was pushed back from the impact. His legs threatened to buckle underneath him and his arms cried out in protest as he willed them to hold the massive head of the serpent. He held his blade between his hands, using the flat side as a bar to hold the head back.

The Zolom snapped and hissed as it tried to overcome the strength of the single Soldier. Cloud struggled just to remained standing, feeling as he slowly was pushed backward.

"Yuffie…" he managed to say. "Run!"

But Yuffie remained where she stood, frozen in place. Cloud could see her and cursed. He knew that he wouldn't be able to keep this up for much longer. He didn't have many options so he took the only one he could take. He let himself get snatched up by the Zolom. But as it raised its head up and made to snap its jaw shut, Cloud brought his arms up and kept it from closing.

The Zolom was caught off guard as it made a confused noise. It shook its head, trying to close its mouth but Cloud would not quit. With one last show of strength, Cloud lowered the roof of its mouth to his back and gripped his sword. He focused on another Materia that Zack had let him borrow and called upon its magic.

"Cloud!" Davis shouted as he realized where the blond had gone. "Oh no, he's been eaten!"

"We have to cut him out!" Ken shouted as he ran toward the Zolom, aiming to carve out its stomach.

But as they neared, they were surprised to hear Cloud shout with enormous effort. The next thing they saw was the blond exploding from the back of the Zolom's head with various fluids all over his body. Cloud landed with a heavy thumb as he failed to land on his feet. The two friends rushed to his side and immediately began casting Cure.

But to their great relief, Cloud, albeit slowly, began to rise. "Did I get it?" he asked as he sat himself down.

"Did you get it?" Davis repeated. "Dude, you took its freaking head off!"

"I wasn't trying to take its head off…" Cloud shook his head. He could feel several pieces of flesh fall from his hair as he did. He wasn't sure there was a soap strong enough to make him feel clean again. "I used Drainga to absorb its life force and I guess it gave me extra strength…"

"In either case…you were the one who killed it." Davis said. He sat down beside the blond. Sighing, he stared down at the ground. "I just wish Zhane hadn't…"

"What happened?" Cloud asked.

"Zhane tried to take its head off like you did…but he didn't make it." Davis fought back a sob. "It gobbled him up in a single bite."

"Um guys…"

Turning around, Davis and Cloud saw Ken standing with his sword drawn in front of Yuffie. The second Midgar Zolom rapidly rose from beneath the swamp and towered over them. For a moment, they all froze as they thought it was about to lunge. But as quick as it rose, the Zolom fell to the side, collapsing on top of the first dead serpent. Then as they tried to make sense of what had just happened, Zhane leaped over the dead bodies and landed in a crouch in front of them. As he rose up, he had a large goofy grin plastered on his face.

"Hey guys, did ya miss me?"

They stared at him for several moments, not speaking a single word. Then once they realized that he was real and not an illusion, they rushed him, embracing him as they did.

"Hey, hey, I missed you guys too but come on!" Zhane laughed as he embraced them back.

"You idiot! We thought you had died!" Davis cried, tearing streaming down his face.

Seeing this sobered Zhane up at bit as he dropped his joking persona. "I almost did…if it wasn't for that Exit Materia…" Zhane told them. "I used it while I was in its throat…I was transported out of there."

"Where did you get that?" Ken asked, relieved that his brother was alive and well.

"I got it from Zack. Since everyone always says that I get into trouble, I thought it would get me out of it. Who knew that I would be right?" Zhane said. "After I got out, I used the other Materia I got and I eventually killed it with my limit break. I just wished it hadn't thrown up on me…"

"Is that why you smell bad?" Yuffie asked. She was holding on to him from behind with her arms wrapped around his neck.

Zhane chuckled. "yes, that's why I smell so bad."

"It threw up on you?" Cloud asked.

"Don't ask…I don't want to remember." Zhane said, shuddering as he recalled that memory.

**End of chapter.**

Well what did you think? The next chapter will feature them hunting for the treasure. Now that I've brought her into the story, I actually wondering what to do with Yuffie. At first I was gonna have her stay with Cloud and Zhane, probably have her live with one of them till she figured out a way to get home. I figured that I could use her to add some humor to the story. But I'm curious as to what you guys think. Do you think that Yuffie should stay or should I send her packing?

Also, just so that I don't confused any of you, the Materia that I'm using comes from both games. Though I'm probably gonna be mixing the two, I'm essentially using both sets where ever its convenient.

Also at the end of the next chapter, there will be a surprise that probably won't be much of a surprise if you've played Crises Core. Still, you might not see it coming. Also, Cloud's Life Lessons will continue in the next chapter. I'm not sure exactly how to word them but I'm sure it'll come to me.

Till next time.


	12. The Last Protector Part 1

**I don't own FF7.**

**This chapter is definitely a filler. I'm sorry if it seems like I'm adding nothing but filler but I want to give my characters a chance to grow. I mean, how can you come to care about Zhane and the others if you don't get a chance to know them? Not just Zhane and his brothers but Cloud and Zack as well. You may know them from the games but that shows you only a limited view, just a pacing glance. I'm trying to show you that there's more to them than just good looks and sheer awesomeness. **

**Anyways, as the title says, this is part 1 of a multi-part story within the story. I don't want to ruin it but Zhane will be telling Yuffie a story that we will only hear part of today. The rest will be told at another time. I tried to add some humor but I'm not sure it worked out the way I hoped. So if you would please leave me some feedback, I'd really appreciate it. After all, you, my readers, are my test audience. I am working on a story that is my own that I hope to publish as soon as I'm done with it. Any and all feedback you can give me will help me grow and improve as a writer and author. **

**Well I hope you all enjoy this chapter. Enjoy!**

**Soldier **

**Chapter 12: The Last Protector (Part 1)**

They made camp near the base of the mountain as darkness blanketed the land. Both Zhane and Cloud had to clean themselves by using water they melted from blocks of Ice created by the Blizzard Materia. It was cold but it got the job done.

Once they were cleaned up, they built a make shift camp. Unfortunately they had only brought two tents. One for Ken and Davis and one for Cloud and Zhane. But with Yuffie with them, they didn't have the heart to make her sleep outside. So now the four Soldiers squared off as they prepared themselves to face off against one another.

"So we're all agreed, then?" Davis asked, eyeing his friends and soon to be enemies.

"yes…the first one to lose must sleep outside…" Cloud clarified.

"And there'll be no hard feelings, right?" Ken asked.

"Lets just get this over with!" Zhane urged them. "Ready?"

"Ready!"

"ROCK, PAPER, SCISSORS!"

"Aha, Yes! I didn't lose!"

"Me neither!"

"That sucks for you, bro."

"God damn it!" Zhane cursed as he fell to his knees.

"Alright then, Cloud, you'll share the tent with us and Zhane you can sleep by the fire." Davis said. "Have fun with the mosquitoes."

"You might want to use some insect repellent." Ken added.

"Um…good night." Cloud said lamely as he went inside.

"Damn…my luck sucks…" Zhane muttered.

(/_\) (￣ー￣) (/_\)

"Um…Zhane?"

"Yea Yuffie?"

"I can't sleep…"

"Do you want me to tell you a story?"

"Uh huh…"

"Alright, come 'ere…" Zhane patted the ground beside him. Once Yuffie was settled in, Zhane began his tale. "The story I'm about to tell you was-"

"Wait, you have to start the story with once upon a time!"

"Fine, once upon a time-"

"In a land far, far, away." Yuffie added.

"In a land far, far away." Zhane corrected. "There once lived a brave warrior-"

"Prince, there has to be a prince!"

"Alright, there once lived a brave prince-"

"Who was handsome."

"Aren't you like ten? How would you know if he's handsome or not? Maybe he's butt ugly?"

"I'm 11 and I too know what's handsome!"

"Alright, fine. A brave prince who was handsome. There, happy?"

"Did he had to fight to save a princess?"

"Actually, yes. Now, is there anything else you'd like to add before I begin the story?"

"Nuh uh, I'm good."

"Alright, then. Once upon a time in a land far far away, there lived a handsome prince named-"

"Give him your name."

"Why the hell would I give him my name? he sounds like a total fag." Zhane asked.

"Because! You're the one who gave me this!" She pulled out the Materia that Zhane had given her. "Its obvious that you're the hero of this story!"

"I still don't see why I have to give this fag my name."

"What's a fag?"

"Never mind, where were we?"

"You were giving the fag prince your name."

"Don't call him that, its not nice."

"But you called him that twice!"

"I know, but it was wrong of me to do so."

"So he's not a fag?"

"Oh he's still a fag. But so long as he has my name he's not. Got it?"

"I think so…"

"Good. Now as I was saying, the handsome prince named Zhane was going to marry the beautiful princess from the land of-"

"Ooooh! Can she be from Wutai?"

"Are you coming on to me?"

"What's that?"

"Never mind. Yes, she can be from Wutai."

"Can she have my name?"

"Okay, this is getting weird…"

"Why?"

"Cause, you're giving these characters our names."

"And? You're the one telling the story and I'm the one who's listening to it."

"Alright but if you start coming on to me, I'm swear I'm gonna start screaming."

"What's that?"

"Never mind."

"You're weird…"

"You have no idea." Zhane muttered. "Anyways, the prince was going to marry the princess from Wutai, Yuffie, the white rose of Wutai. But before they could get married, the two had to first meet…"

(/_\) (￣ー￣) (/_\)

"Yo, Cloud, come on! We're gonna miss out ship to Wutai!" Zhane shouted as he rode at top speed on his Chocobo. Behind him rode his best friend and brother in arms, Cloud of Nibelheim, first born son of the kingdom of Nibel.

"I'm coming…we still have 20 minutes to reach it." Cloud said as he caught up. "Besides, wasn't it you who said that we should probably miss this ship anyways?"

"I was drunk! You already know better than to listen to me after I've had a few." Zhane protested. "Anyways, my father would kill me if I don't make it on this ship."

"alright…lets hurry."

And so the two friends rode on, eventually arriving at the port city of Nak. From there, they boarded the vessel that would carry them to Wutai, the land of ancient legends and warriors.

"Hey Cloud, what do you think this princess is gonna be like?" Zhane asked as he leaned against the railing. "Do you think she's gonna be hot or ugly?"

"I don't know…I've never met her before." Cloud shrugged. "But I did hear that's she's a fierce warrior."

"I just hope that my father knows what he's doing…if this marriage doesn't go as planned we might not gain the alliance from Wutai." Zhane sighed. "If that happens then we won't be able to fight off the incoming invasion from the north…"

"Why would they want to invade us? What did we do to them?" Cloud asked. His father hadn't told him much aside from that the Northern lands were going to invade within a years time.

"I'm not exactly sure…" Zhane admitted. "My father just came up to me and said that the north had become a threat and that if we didn't unite the four kingdoms that we'd all be wiped out."

"What is the kingdom of Gongaga gonna do?" Cloud asked.

"Last I heard, my father was sending my younger brothers to go see King Fair. I doubt Prince Zack would let his father do anything but help us."

"I agree…lets just hope that the King of Wutai likes you." Cloud sighed.

"Hey, what's with the sigh? aren't I likable?"

"Do you want the truth or do you still wanna be friends?"

"Hahaha, very funny." Zhane laughed sarcastically. "Come on…if I'm gonna get married to a total stranger in a week, I might as well get all the partying out of my system now."

"Where are you going?"

"To get a drink, where else?"

"You know…I heard that a man finds true happiness when he get married." Cloud commented as he followed his friend. "Maybe you'll be happy too."

"Unless this princess is willing to give it up twice a day, I don't see me happy."

"You're such a pig, you know that?"

"Of course. Its called being a guy."

"I'm not like that." Cloud countered. "You don't see me talking about that 24/7 like you."

"That's cause you're so depraved." Zhane reasoned. "Look, all our lives we've been taught how to handle a blade. We are taught that the sword is but an extension of ourselves. That's it's a part of us. We are taught to handle it with great proficiency and skill. Now if you take all of that and apply it to sex, you'll see that 99% of what we learned can be used in both the battlefield and the broom closet."

"Don't you mean the bedroom?"

"If you can wait that long."

"I rest my case. You're hopeless."

"Come on Cloud, you can't tell me that you're still a virgin."

"Unlike you, I don't bed every maiden that brings me a drink."

"You make that sound like it's a bad thing."

"It is a bad thing." Cloud pointed at the Crest of Courage on Zhane's chest right above his heart. "That symbol is proof that you're the first born prince of Midgar. You should act like a prince, one befitting of such noble blood."

"I do act with nobility." Zhane protested. "I've only slept with one person."

"Sure…and I'm a Chocobo."

"Well…you kind of do look like one…"

"Can you stop joking around? We're having a serious conversation here!"

"I am being serious. Look, I swear on my honor that I've only ever been with one girl."

"Who?"

"You remember that girl from your village? The one who's friends used to pick on you when you were a kid?"

"You mean Tifa?"

"Yea! She recently came to live in Midgar and she owns a bar there. I'm one of her regular customers. It just happened about a year ago after my brothers and I killed that dragon. We were celebrating and one thing led to another. Anyways, we've been casual friends ever since. She's a great girl, if I were the settling down type, I'd probably marry her."

"Hmm…if I remember correctly, she used to be really pretty as a child."

"She's even more beautiful now." Zhane told him. "You know what? I should introduce you to her! She's always asking about you when I come in for a drink."

"She asks about me?"

"Yea! She even asks me if you're ever coming for a visit and that if I could invite you." Zhane said. "Its kind of the reason I've been asking you to come for the past few months."

"Well I've been busy…"

"Tell you what, how about we make a deal. If I behave from now till I get married, then you have to go and pay Tifa a visit. Deal?"

"…alright…" Cloud agreed. "But I'm not promising anything between me and her."

"Trust me, pal, when you meet her, you're never gonna want to leave her."

(/_\) (￣ー￣) (/_\)

"What's sex?" Yuffie asked.

"Huh?" this caught Zhane off guard.

"I said, what's sex?" Yuffie repeated.

"Um…its…a game…" Zhane said quickly.

"What kind of game?"

"The kind that adults play when they're bored."

"Oh…" Yuffie seemed to considered it for a moment before shrugging. "Okay, carry on."

"Alright…we last left our heroes as they embarked across the western sea to reach the kingdom of Wutai, one of the Four Kingdoms. Zhane was suppose to marry the princess of Wutai though he had never even seen her. Now, we find our heroes arriving in Wutai and making their way to meet the king."

(/_\) (￣ー￣) (/_\)

Prince Zhane and Prince Cloud rode on top of Chocobo while being escorted by the Wutainese soldiers. Despite never having set foot on Wutai soil, both Princes had been informed about the customs and traditions of the land.

They were escorted directly to the throne room where the king of Wutai awaited them with several of his Generals and Advisors. He was an old man but he was still an able warrior and one not to be trifled with.

"Welcome Prince Zhane of Midgar and Prince Cloud of Nibel. As you may already know, I am Kurama, King of Wutai." the king spoke with a dignified tone, one that expressed his nobility and authority. "I am aware of what has brought you here and before I allow you to court my daughter, I would like to ask you one thing. Will you swear not only on your honor but on your country's honor that you will protect her?"

Zhane took a few steps forward and then placed his right hand over his chest, just bellow his family's crest. "On my honor and my country's honor, I swear to do everything in my power to protect her."

"Very well." the king looked pleased. "Know, prince, that I shall hold you to that vow for if you break it willingly, the armies of the north will be the least of your fears."

Zhane didn't look the least bit intimidated. "It may be that I am young, my lord, but I do not feel fear."

This made the King chuckle in amusement. "At least you're wise enough to recognize your faults." he then rose from his seat. "You have my permission to court my daughter, but I must warn you. If she does not wish to have you then there will be no marriage."

"I understand." Zhane nodded.

"Very well, I shall arrange for you to meet my daughter tomorrow evening during diner. Until then, you are free to explore the town and enjoy the pleasures my city has to offer." the king dismissed them.

"With your permission." Zhane bowed before leaving with Cloud at his side.

(/_\) (￣ー￣) (/_\)

"Where are you going?" Cloud asked. The blond was lying on his bed, watching as Zhane changed his clothes.

"I'm going to go and have some fun…" Zhane explained. "Its probably going to be my last night as a free man."

"Don't you mean single man?"

"Nope! Once I get married, I'm basically a prisoner of marriage. So I'm going to head into the city and make my last night count."

"You promised you'd behave, remember?" Cloud reminded him.

"And I will. Now, are you gonna join me or just stay here?"

"You go on ahead. I'm gonna catch up on some sleep before diner." Cloud said.

"Alright. I'll see you in a few then."

Zhane wondered around the city, taking in the sights. But as the sun began to set, he made his way toward the most popular bar in the city. It was there that the soon-to-be-wed-prince found himself getting into a different kind of trouble.

"Who here thinks they can beat me in a contest of strength?" a large burly man shouted. He was surrounded by a crowd of people and he had just defeated a man in a game of arm wrestling. "Is there anyone who can go against the great Mateo?"

"I'll take you on!" Zhane called out. He made his way toward the center of the crowd, watching as the people parted to let him pass. Most had on amused looks while others eyed him suspiciously.

Mateo was among those amused. "And who might you be, boy?" he asked, not even trying to contain his laughter.

"You can call me Cloud." Zhane said. He wasn't dumb enough to use his actual name. He didn't think Cloud would mind if he borrowed his name for the night. After all, his friend hadn't minded the other times he'd done it in the past, not that Cloud ever found out about those nights.

"That name suits you…you look soft, like a cloud!" the man chuckled. "But a challenge is a challenge."

"Alright. If I win, what do I get?" Zhane asked.

"If you win, then you will get the respect of everyone here." Mateo told him.

"Anything else?" Zhane asked, not impressed with the prize.

"Ah my young friend, respect can be more valuable than gold here." Mateo said in a wise tone.

"Alright then. Lets get this game started!"

Zhane sat down in front of the older man and at the count of three, the two pushed their hands to their limits. Zhane grinned as he stared at the man across from him. Mateo raised an eyebrow in confusion before he found himself getting pinned by the much younger man.

"Looks like I win." Zhane stated.

The entire bar had gone quiet. It became clear to Zhane that no one must've been able to defeat Mateo in a long time. He glanced around, trying to see if they would attack him when all of sudden, he heard someone clapping. Turning to his right, he saw a woman, probably no older than he was, making her way toward him.

For a moment, Zhane had forgotten how to breathe. To say that this woman was beautiful would've been an understatement. She had fair skin, almost pale compared to his. Her long black hair fell down to the small of her back and her eyes seemed to glow in the torch light. She wore a fine dress, one that hugged her form rather well. Overall, Zhane was sure that he had just met an angel in human form.

She came to a stop in front of his seat. She looked down at him as if analyzing the young man. Then, after appearing pleased, she reached for his hand and motioned him to stand. He did so. She turned to the crown and declared. "We have our winner!"

The effect was instant. The whole bar began to cheer loudly, some even chanting his name. but Zhane barely noticed it. He was still staring at the woman before him.

"So you're name's Cloud, right?" the woman asked.

"Yea…what's yours?"

"You can call me Sora." the woman said. "Come, I think you've earned yourself a drink."

"Now you're talking my language." Zhane grinned. This night might just be fun after all.

(/_\) (￣ー￣) (/_\)

"When's he gonna meet the princess?" Yuffie asked, interrupting the story.

"Soon. Right now, he's talking to this mysterious lady." Zhane answered.

"But you said that the prince was gonna marry the princess!" Yuffie said. "So why is he with this other lady at a bar?"

"Its all part of the story. If the prince simply got married and lived happily ever after without nothing else happening then it would be a pretty boring story, right?"

"Well, yea…"

"Then let me tell the story like it was told to me." Zhane said.

"Fine…"

"Good. Now as I was saying, Zhane had just met Sora and she offered to buy him a drink…"

(/_\) (￣ー￣) (/_\)

"So what brings you down here, Cloud?" Sora asked. They were seated in a private room and they had their own supply of drinks. Sora was apparently well connected in order to have this room all to herself.

"I'm actually here looking for work." Zhane lied. "I heard that Wutai was a rich land in both culture and gold. I came to see if it was true. So far, the culture part is true…"

"So you're a mercenary…" this seemed to interest her. "A Jack of all trades?"

"Only if the trade is money and the company of a beautiful woman." Sora laughed.

"You're such a charmer…" she reached for the bottle of sake and poured herself a glass. "I'm curious…would you be willing to accept any job?"

"That depends…" Zhane said carefully. "I don't deal in slavery nor assassinations…though I could be persuaded in the latter."

"The job I had in mind is more along the lines of fulfillment than anything else…"

"Fulfillment?"

"Yes…you might not care about my story but I'll buy your time if you're willing to listen…" she poured him a cup. "So…what will it be?"

Zhane flashed her a large grin as he picked up the cup. "Anything for you my dear…"

She smiled and for the first time, Zhane noticed that she actually seemed to relax in his presence. "Good. I was beginning to worry."

"So what troubles you? How can this soldier of fortune help you?" Zhane asked, bringing the cup up to his lips.

"I want you to show me a good time."

"A good time, huh?" Zhane flashed her a mischievous grin. "Just what did you have in mind?"

To his surprised, she returned the grin. "Well lets just see how much sake you can handle…then, if you're still conscious, we'll see where the night takes us…"

(/_\) (￣ー￣) (/_\)

Zhane stopped as he felt Yuffie slump beside him. She had fallen asleep. "I guess we'll continue this story another time."

Carefully as he could, Zhane scooped her up in his arms and slowly got up. He then set her down inside of the tent, making sure to cover her up with the sleeping bag. Then he kissed her on the forehead before saying goodnight.

As Zhane exited the tent, he wasn't surprised to see Cloud, Davis, and Ken awake and waiting for him around the fire.

"You know…" Davis began as Zhane sat down. "When gramps told us that story, there was a lot more smut."

"And it was a lot more graphic…" Ken added.

"Why did you steal my name?" Cloud asked, more curious than anything.

"First off, I didn't steal your name. The prince did. Second, I wasn't gonna tell her the triple X version of that story. I already let some of the smut slip earlier."

Davis snorted. "XXX? You wish that story was rated that low. Shikaku has been alive way too damn long. That old man could make even the porn industry blush."

"What do you mean?" Cloud asked.

"You don't want to know…" Ken told him.

"Anyways…we should all go to sleep…tomorrows gonna be a long day." Zhane said.

"Alright, good night."

"Good night."

"Night."

**End of chapter. **

Well what did you think? If you haven't been able to tell yet, their adoptive grandfather of sorts, Shikaku, is probably one of the biggest perverts you will ever have the pleasure of meeting. While I do question his sanity for telling an adult rated story to kids, he is a great guy and as you will learn later, he does give great advice.

Anyways, I hope to hear from you soon. Hopefully I'll finish the next chapter by this Monday.

Till next time.


	13. A Different Kind of Treasure

**I don't own FF7. **

**I would've posted this yesterday but I was feeling lazy. Yea, it happens. Anyways, this chapter continues with their mission in the mithril mines. While I don't want to spoil the chapter, this one will actually pave the way for the next chapter. **

**I probably should've mention before that I'm not going to follow the same story as the games. While I will use elements of the plot, things will happen differently here. For example, during this point in the story, Zack should've been put on vacation and he would eventually have to fight Genesis Copies. While Soldier will battle the Genesis Copies, it will happen at a later time. For now, we're going to get to know the characters a bit as they interact with one another. **

**Well, I'd also like to say that the reason I was feeling lazy was because I was hard at work hours before I got home. I was not watching MLPFIM videos on Youtube. Yea, I totally wasn't watching the "Love Me Cheerilee Music Video" by BronyDanceParty. But if I **_**was**_** watching it, I'd recommend it for you to watch. Of course, I wasn't watching it, I was just tired…yea…**

**Enjoy!**

**Soldier **

**Chapter 13: A Different Kind of Treasure**

"Hey, someone's gonna have to carry me cause there's no way I'm jumping that." Yuffie said as she pointed at the ledge.

They were standing a few feet from a ledge. After eating a light breakfast and cleaning up their campsite, they followed the trail on the map. Somehow Cloud and Ken had been able to figure out the general direction and they followed it. For the most part, it had become a hike through the mountainous terrain. To their surprise, Yuffie had no problem keeping up with them. In fact, she was actually yelling at them to hurry up half the time.

Over the course of three hours, they had encountered some monsters, as expected. With four Soldiers, even Thirds class, they were able to defeat the monsters without much trouble. Cloud and Zhane had exchanged some of the Materia Zack had let them borrow with Ken and Davis. With party evened out, they were able to take care of some of the tougher monsters without endangering Yuffie.

Now they reached the part of the trail where they would have to jump across a large ravine in order to continue. While they could easily make the jump, Yuffie could not.

"I nominate Zhane to carry her." Davis said as patted his brother on the back. "She obviously likes you more than us."

"Haha, very funny…" Zhane sent a glare Davis's way. "Well Yuffie, looks like you're stuck with me."

"That's okay!" she looked happy with the arrangements and even giggled as she jumped in his arms.

"Hold on tight." Zhane warned her. "I don't want to drop you by accident."

"Don't worry, I trust you."

Zhane ignored the comment and pushed off the ground as he leaped over the ledge. The distance wasn't that great, perhaps 15 feet. For a normal person, it would seem like a lot but for Soldier, that was barely even a good warm up. After the others had joined him, Zhane bent down to let Yuffie off. But to his annoyance, she didn't want to let go.

"I'm tired…" she whined. "Can you carry me?"

"Are you serious?"

"Yes!"

"Cloud, buddy, will you carry her for me?" Zhane asked, turning toward the blond.

"Um…" he looked uncomfortable with the idea. "I don't think she'd let me…" and to prove him right, Yuffie snapped at him.

"You carry me!" Yuffie wailed.

"Alright, fine…" Zhane grumbled. He sent her down then turned around so that she could climb on his back. He sighed as he rose back to full height. As his friends stared at him, he asked. "What?"

"Nothing…" the three of them said.

He sent them a glare before continuing on. It wasn't long before Yuffie fell asleep on his back. It wouldn't been cute if it weren't for the fact that she started to drool on his left shoulder. Thankfully, Cloud was kind enough to dry some of it and place a rag near his neck to prevent it from drenching him. Davis and Ken on the other hand had laughed their asses off, mostly Davis that is. Ken had the decency to look sympathetic toward his brother.

(/_\) (￣ー￣) (/_\)

"Are you sure this is it?" Davis asked.

"Yea…the map marks this as the entrance to the chamber…" Ken said, showing his brother the map.

"Dude…you know I can't read that…" Davis said. He still looked at the map and saw the markings near Ken's finger. "When did you learn how to read this anyways?"

"They taught us back in training…" Ken told him. "Some of us actually paid attention…"

"So are we going in or what?" Yuffie asked them. She stood a few feet from the entrance, looking as confident as she sounded. It didn't come to a surprise to the Soldier members but it did amuse them slightly.

"Yuffie, we can't just rush in there…" Zhane began. "Its not only dangerous but incredibly stupid to rush in unprepared. Especially if it's a dark cave that you've never heard about before."

"But you guys are suppose to be bad ass fighters, right? You can take out any monsters that get in our way." Yuffie said confidently.

"We might be in Soldier but even we're not invincible…" Ken told her. But as soon as he said the world 'Soldier' they all noticed as Yuffie tensed up.

"you're Soldier?" she asked, taking a step back. "All of you?" she turned to Zhane last.

"Yea, didn't you know?" Zhane asked. He took a step toward her and she screamed.

"Stay back! You work for Shinra!" she shouted. Her demeanor changed and she was no longer the fun energetic little girl. Now she looked at them as if they were the scum of the earth, which in her eyes they were.

"Yuffie, what's the matter?" Zhane asked. Her reaction caught him off guard and he was worried that she might do something foolish.

"She's probably still upset over Wutai losing the war to Shinra…" Ken reasoned.

"So? We're not her enemies…" Davis said.

"Yuffie, we're not your enemies…we're your friends…" Zhane tried again to get close but she backed away, glaring daggers at him.

"Stay away! You Shinra Soldiers are evil! You killed countless Wutai soldiers and then took our pride from our land!" she shouted. "I'll never forgive you!"

Then before anymore could be said, she ran off into the cave, ignoring them as they called for her.

"We have to go after her!" Zhane was about to leave when he felt a hand grab his arm.

"Hang on. We can't just rush in there blind. We have to prepare!" Davis said. "Look, there's no telling what we will find in there."

"I've read reports from the Shinra data base that these mountains are filled with maze like caves." Ken said. "If you go in there without setting markers then you could be lost in there forever."

"Alright…look, I'll go on ahead and try and catch up with Yuffie. You guys set up the markers and then come in after us." Zhane ordered. "Cloud, you stay here. That way, if we don't come back within 24hrs you can send a distress signal."

"Alright." Cloud nodded.

"Lets go!"

(/_\) (￣ー￣) (/_\)

Zhane heard screaming coming from up ahead. The cave he had entered had quickly turned into a large open chamber of elevated paths that stood high above the darkened floor. He couldn't even see the bottom below but he was sure that it was there. The paths were winding and long, with enough room for several men to walk easily enough.

But as he raced down the winding paths, Zhane was met with several large one eyed winged monsters. There was three of them in all and Zhane soon found out that they were magic resistant.

"You bastards…" Zhane cursed.

He leaped out of the way as one of the monsters cast Blizzard on him. Not only could they fly but they could cast magic too. Zhane crouched low before pushing of the ground and slicing through the nearest flying eyeball. But as he fell down to the bottomless put below, Zhane focused on the Exit Materia in his armor and with a soundless pop, he found himself crouching on the path he had just been on.

But he wasn't allowed to breathe as the second flying eyeball came swooping down, claws outstretched. Zhane raised his blade and blocked the claw swipe. But as the claws clamped around the sword, Zhane cocked his arm back and punched the creature in its eye. It screeched out in pain as it flew back, releasing the sword. It didn't get far as Zhane jumped high into the air and brought down his sword in the temple of the monster, cutting it in half.

With two down, that left only one more. The last flying monster hovered above him, eyeing him warily. It had sense enough to know when it was in danger of dying. Zhane raised his palm up and his hand began to glow. Seeing that Zhane was about to cast magic, the creature dived down toward him, screeching as it did. From his hand, Zhane fired a large ball of fire, engulfing the monster and silencing it forever.

With them taken care of, Zhane hurried down the path, leaping over the large gaps in between the winding roads. He heard Yuffie screaming again and this time he heard a loud roared following up her scream. He could feel the vibrations coming from the chambers up ahead. As he leaped over the ledge, Zhane saw down below a large blue dragon that was baring its fangs down at Yuffie.

"Yuffie!" Zhane landed in a roll and came up to kneel beside the young girl. "Are you okay?"

But Yuffie didn't respond. She trembled as she stared up at the towering beast before them. Zhane stood up and stared the dragon down. He could sense something different about this creature, something almost mystical. As he drew his sword, a large rune began to glow and expand around them.

The rune flashed brightly, briefly blinding the two. When they opened their eyes, Zhane and Yuffie found themselves in another dimension. They stood in a rocky platform with three islands floating around them. The blue dragon had taken flight and now hovered on the other end of the platform.

"Zhane…?" he felt Yuffie grasp his leg.

"Don't worry…I'll protect you…" Zhane promised. The treasure hidden inside of the cave must've been the summon Materia of this dragon. He had heard legends told about the blue dragon that could be called upon by great warriors. The parts that worried him were the descriptions of how easily the dragon could wipe out entire armies.

The dragon let loose a ferocious roar before landing. It made its way toward them, each step causing the ground to tremble in its wake.

"Hold on!" Zhane grabbed Yuffie by the back of her shirt and leaped onto on of the three floating islands. "Stay here, don't move!"

Then Zhane leaped back on the main stage, shouting at the summon to come at him. Focusing on his Materia, Zhane quickly cast barrier and Regen. He regretted not having Haste on him, it would definitely come in handy.

"Come on!" Zhane roared.

The summon responded immediately, lunging at the Soldier without doubt. Zhane followed suit and dashed to meet the large dragon in the middle of the platform. As they drew close, Zhane leaped up and slashed downward, aiming to blind the beast. But the blade simply glanced off.

This threw Zhane off and he was unable to react in time as the dragon slammed his claw down on Zhane from above. The crushing blow would've killed a regular man but thanks to him being in Soldier and the Barrier spell he had on, Zhane just got the wind knocked out of him.

But the dragon didn't stop there, it pushed down on Zhane's chest, trying to crush him. But Zhane wasn't about to quit, he pushed back despite being completely out matched. He wasn't trying to push the summon off, though. He focused on the Exit Materia and within moments, he appeared high above the summon's head.

Yelling as he came down, Zhane held his sword with the point down, aiming to stab the dragon right through its head. But as Zhane came down, he was unable to avoid the tail swipe from behind. He swept aside, falling near edge of the stage. The dragon then rose up to full height and as it did, six white orbs formed around its wings.

"Crap…"

Zhane sprang to his feet and expertly dodged the orbs, rolling and leaping out of their way. But as he rose to full height, he was surprise to see that the dragon was no where in sight. Then he heard it, the sound of rushing air. But he was too late. The dragon came swooping down from above, slamming its wings against Zhane's side. The Soldier third class was sent sprawling to the ground hard.

But as he pushed himself up, he felt the wind swept past him as the large dragon flew up high into the air. But what chilled his blood wasn't that the summon was powering up, no, it was that the dragon had its sights set on another target.

Yuffie stared up at as the dragon cocked its head back, a bright blue-ish flow emanating from its mouth as it gathered up its power. The sheer volume of energy could be felt even at the distance they were at and Zhane knew what it was about to do. He could feel the air vibrating from the power that the dragon was collecting. Tearing his eyes away from the beast above, Zhane sprang to his feet and tried to make it in time.

"Yuffie!"

As the dragon fired the massive blast of energy, Zhane landed in front of Yuffie and he extended both hands in front of him. There was no time to escape so Zhane did the only thing he could do. As the blast made contact with his hands, he screamed in pain as it felt the energy burning his skin. But he refused to give up. Steeling his mind, he focused on his Materia and a split second later, Zhane appeared above the dragon's head once more. This time with a massive ball of energy right behind him. The dragon barely managed to turn around as Zhane came down.

"Yippie-kai-yay, mothefu-" Zhane shouted as he came crashing down on the summon's chest.

The explosion that followed deafened Yuffie for several moments as she closed her eyes and tried to hold on to anything. The force of the explosion shoot the very dimension they were in and when Yuffie opened her eyes, she was surprise that she was still alive.

She saw Zhane lying on the ground a few yards away from her and he wasn't moving. Without waiting to see if the dragon was still around, she ran to his side and tried to wake him.

"Zhane? Can you hear me?" she gently shook him, trying her best not to hurt him by accident. His body looked hurt as he had several burn marks on his skin and clothes.

But Zhane didn't respond and she begun to be gripped by fear. "Wake up…please wake up!" she shook him a little more forcefully this time but still he lay still. "Please…" tears began to form in her eyes as a full minute passed by and he had yet to show signs of life. "Please…wake up…you gotta wake up…" her tears began to fall as she saw the pool of blood forming below him. "Zhane…don't die…you can't…you gotta get up!"

Then her head snapped up as she heard a low rumbling sound coming from the center platform. Lying on its stomach was the blue dragon and it was showing signs of life as it slowly stirred. Yuffie watched in horror as it opened its eyes and stared directly at her. While it didn't speak, the message had been clear; it wasn't over.

"Zhane, come on, you have to get up!" she urged. She began to beat her tiny fists against his chest, hoping to wake him up. But she got no response.

"Come on! You made me a promise!" she shouted through hot tears. "You said you'd protect me!"

In the corner of her eye, she saw the dragon begin to prop itself up, using its shaky but still deadly arms to raise itself from the floor.

"If you don't wake up that monster is gonna kill us!" she slapped him a few times but nothing seemed to work. Looking around, she heard something clink as it fell to the ground. Turning toward her right, she saw that the Materia that Zhane had given her had fallen out of her pocket. It was then that she recalled what Zhane had told her.

"_its called Cure. With it you can start to restore Wutai." Zhane had told her. "It has the power to heal wounds, both old and new. And in the right hands, it can repair even damaged souls." _

She reached down to grab it.

"_All it takes is a good heart." _

She didn't know if she had a good heart. But she did want to help Zhane. Clutching the green sphere close to her chest, Yuffie began to pray to her nation's gods to give her the strength to heal her friend.

For moment nothing happened, the Materia lay dormant in her hands. But then she felt something, a pull on her very soul. The pull began to grow in strength, sapping her strength. But as she opened her eyes, she was surprised to see that her entire body glowed bright green. Then, with trembling hands, she reached down and placed her hands on Zhane's chest, right above his heart.

The affect was instantaneous. All the energy she had felt as if it had been sucked from her and sent straight into Zhane. His body glowed for a second before he opened his eyes and sat up, gasping for breath. It took him a second to realize that he was still alive before he noticed that he was still in the middle of a battle.

Turning to Yuffie, he gave her a questioning look before shaking his head and flashing her a large smile. Patting her head, he rose to his feet and picked up his sword.

"I don't know what you did…" he said, glancing over his shoulder. "But whatever it was…thank you…I owe you my life."

Yuffie was too tired to talk so she simply watched on as Zhane stared down the now fully risen dragon. His body, while still damaged, began to glow and for a moment Yuffie thought she was seeing things.

"That last attack nearly killed me…" Zhane continued as he made his way toward the edge of the little island. "But it didn't…and now…with all the damage I've taken…" he held his sword at his side, ready for a slashing strike. "I've got more than enough to use my Limit Break."

The dragon roared as lunged at Zhane, not caring what he had to say. Zhane did the same and pushed off the ground, aiming to meet the dragon head on. Zhane then switched his hold on his sword and held it with a single hand. Then he lunged it forward, aiming to stab the summon.

"Transcendent Sword!"

The blade glowed white just before the two forces met. The summon roared in pain as the sword stabbed itself in its chest. Zhane pushed hard, wanting to make the hit count. And just as the summon was about to fall back, Zhane kicked off of its chest and landed in a crouch a few yards away.

The dragon groaned a final time before fading away, returning to its summon Materia form. The red sphere hovered in the air for a moment before making its way toward Zhane. And as soon as he grabbed it, the Materia flashed brightly and when they opened their eyes again, they were glad to find themselves back in the caves.

Zhane turned around just in time to catch Yuffie as she nearly tackled him to the ground. She was trembling as she cried into his clothes. He understood why of course. She had thought that he had died. Truth be told, he was sure that he had died during that fight. But for whatever reason, be it miracle or fate, he was still alive and breathing and he had Yuffie to thank. He knelt down and pulled her into his chest, letting her cry till she had enough.

As he rubbed her back, he thought about the reason why he had come to this place. They had been searching for treasure. A lost treasure from an ancient map. But as he looked down at the sobbing girl in his arms, he couldn't help but think that he had found a different kind of treasure. One more valuable than all the riches in the world.

**End of chapter.**

Well what did you think? Yea, I kind of gave Zhane main character status in this chapter. I couldn't help it, he is based off of me. Not completely though, I'm much smarter. And probably more arrogant too. Lol. Anyways, the summon that Zhane got will be important in the next chapter, though the chapter itself probably won't be that long. As for Zhane, this experience will have matured him, though not by much.

Anyways, I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Till next time.


	14. The Chamber of Heroes

**I don't own FF7.**

**Well hello and welcome to another installment of Soldier. This chapter is short but it actually important. It kind of tells you where I'm going with this. I'd probably add more to this author's note thing but I'm tired…I've been looking for a new place to live because while I love my family and will always treasure them, they can drive me crazy 90% of the time. Besides, I've only stayed this long because they needed my help and now its time for me to go. And since I got a second job now, I can afford to get my own place. Now I just have to find a place that allows pets. There are a lot of animal hatters out there. I mean, who doesn't love dogs? They're man's best friend for crying out loud! Anyways, enough about me. Enjoy! **

**Soldier **

**Chapter 14: The Chamber of Heroes**

When Davis and Ken finally caught up with Zhane, they were relieved to see that they were both still alive. Yuffie was covered in what they assumed to be Zhane's blood and Zhane looked pale in the dim light but otherwise both were fine.

"What happened?" Ken asked as he stopped in front of them.

"Are you guys alright?" Davis asked.

"We're fine…tired…but fine." Zhane answered. He then showed them the red Materia. "I did have to fight this though…"

"Is that a summon?" Ken asked. He was surprised when his brother nodded. "You had to fight that? And you won?"

"Don't sound so surprised…" Zhane remarked sarcastically. "It wasn't easy…" he glanced at Yuffie who looked away, her cheeks sporting a light rosy blush. "But with Yuffie's help, we were able to pull it off."

"Damn…you are seriously one lucky mother-"

"Hey, don't cuss in front of a lady." Zhane scolded him.

"Sorry…but which summon was it?" Davis asked, curious to know. They had been taught about summons back in training and from what they'd been told, summons were incredibly rare. Usually only high ranked seconds and firsts could get their hands on them.

"Its called Bahamut."

"_The Dragon King?_" they both said at the same time. They had been told about Bahamut, especially about how powerful it was. Very few could rival the dragon when it came to power and according to legend, in order to be able to summon him, one first had to defeat Bahamut.

"Yea…I was surprised too." Zhane confessed.

"How the hell did you survive?" Davis couldn't believe that his brother had defeated the dragon alone. "There's no way that you could've beat that thing on your own!"

"You're right." Zhane admitted. "I didn't beat him alone. Yuffie helped me."

"Right, there's no way a little girl could've done much against the Dragon King." Davis scoffed.

"HEY!"

"Sorry. But its true."

"I'll have you know that I saved his life!" Yuffie shouted, pointing at Zhane. "without me he would've been a goner!"

"Zhane, your story can wait till later. Right now, we should continue searching for the treasure." Ken said. He had been reading the map under the light of his flashlight. "I think this is the right way…"

"Here…you might want to take one of these…" Davis said as he handed his brother a potion pill. "I see that you lost your own."

"yea…Bahamut destroyed most of my supplies." Zhane thanked his brother before taking the potion.

(/_\) (￣ー￣) (/_\)

A few hours later and several dozen dead monsters, Zhane and company finally left the winding roads and vast open chamber and entered the solid part of the mountain. They had entered a tunnel that seemed to be full of Mako. Veins of Mako covered the walls, giving the normally dark tunnels an eerie glow.

They made a mental note to add this to their report, Shinra would love to get their hands on the Mako veins. For the most part, nothing happened. They walked silently down the long tunnel, not seeing a single monster. It seemed like the Mako hung so thick in the air that it acted more like a repellant than anything else. They had to cover their faces with special masks and Yuffie had to ride on Zhane's back.

Almost 6 hours after entering the cave, they finally reached an opening and to their surprise, they reached a room with a large statue in the center. The statue featured some lost to the ages warrior with a fierce appearance. Zhane actually stopped as he laid his eyes on the statue, thinking that it would come to life and attack them. But luckily for them, it was just a statue.

As they entered the room, Zhane felt his pocket pulse. Confused, he looked down and saw that there was a red glow coming from inside. "Um…guys?"

Davis and Ken turned to look at Zhane and were surprised to see the glowing Materia. "You're not about to summon him are you?" Davis asked.

"No…" Zhane knelt down to let Yuffie off and then pulled out the summon. As he held it, he felt it pulse once more and this time, he heard words in his head.

"_You have entered the Chamber of Heroes."_ the dragon king spoke, his voice booming in his head.

"Ow…can you tone it down a bit?" Zhane grabbed his head. "You're too loud!"

"Um…who are you talking to?" Ken asked, a worried expression on his face.

"Its Bahamut. He's talking to me." Zhane explained.

"_This room holds the final resting place of 6 brave heroes that rose up to fight against the calamity of the sky!" _Bahamut said, this time his voice much lower.

"The calamity of the sky? What is that?"

"_An ancient evil that came to this world many years ago…it brought much death and destruction…leaving none it its wake…"_ images began to flash in his mind and Zhane flinched in pain. He wasn't used to having his mind assaulted with such powerful memories and emotions. _"The Cetra challenged the Calamity, doing everything in their power to protect the planet. But in the end, it came down to the six heroes who banded together using weapons forged in the life stream. But alas, they were unable to defeat it…knowing that they did not possess the strength to vanquish her, they sealed her away, never again to see the light of day."_

"Then why are you telling me this?" Zhane asked. Something was causing his mind to hurt, something that wasn't connected to the summon. It was almost as if the images he was seeing weren't coming from the summon. But that was crazy, he could see Bahamut standing before him, showing him the images of battles past. "If the monster was sealed away, why show me?"

At this, Bahamut roared loudly, causing Zhane to fall to one knee. _"The calamity is not dead!" _he growled, the Materia pulsing rapidly in his hand. _"I can sense its presence…even here in the Chamber, I sense it! It lives on and you must help me defeat it!"_

"Ugh…but…what can I do…" Zhane asked, trying his best to block the pain. The question seemed to calm the summon down a bit because the pain lessened but it didn't vanish.

"_Each hero possessed a weapon forged in the Life Stream. Six weapons, six summons. You and your companions must find the other summons, the six warriors who channeled the planet's very life energy and became what we are now."_

"You used to be human?"

"_My comrades and I used the planet's energy…yet we could not defeat the calamity…we became what we are now in order to once again do battle against the calamity, knowing that it would not sleep forever."_

"If you and your friends couldn't beat it, what makes you think we can?" Zhane asked.

"_You will not be alone in this fight…I will grant you my strength and fight along side you. And as you encounter the spirits of my comrades, they too will join our quest."_

"Do you know where they are?"

"_Their spirits reside in other parts of the world…when I sense them, I will let you know…" _

"Right. Well is there anything else I should know?"

"_Bring me closer to the center…you will find relics from another time set against the base of the statue."_

Zhane walked over to the center of the room, the others following a few feet behind him. As he drew near, one of the relics began to glow.

"_Pick it up." _Zhane did so. The relic he picked up resembled an ancient, cracked, round shield. There was a hollow spot in the center. _"Place me in the center." _

Zhane carefully placed the summon Materia in the center of the shield and for a moment nothing happened. Then Zhane jumped back as the shield flashed brightly before his eyes. When he opened them again, he was surprised to see that the shield was no longer ancient looking. Gone was the wear of time, replaced with metal that consisted of the purest white any of them had ever seen. The edges of the shield were adorned with a gold trimming that had an intricate set of runes all around on the inside. Then on the center where the red Materia lay embedded, there was another set of runes that surrounded it.

As Zhane held it in his hands, he was surprised yet again by how feather light it felt. Despite that, he was sure that it could deflect even the most powerful of blows.

"_This shield once belonged to me."_ Bahamut said, this time his voice sounding much more docile. _"When you're companions defeat my comrades in battle, they too will have earned the right to wield a weapon forged in the life stream." _

"We have to fight you in order to save the planet?" Zhane asked, not understanding the dragon's logic. "How does that make sense?"

"_Fool!" _the dragon roared, causing Zhane to flinch. _"You must earn your prize! If you cannot defeat us then what right have you to defend the planet? What right have you to wield a blade forged by the very planet you fight to protect?"_

"Okay…I get it. We have to earn it." Zhane said, trying to calm the dragon down. "But you gotta stop with all this yelling. Its so not helping my self esteem."

"_Of all the warriors that could've defeated me, it had to be you."_ Bahamut muttered, ceasing his connection to the young Soldier.

Sensing that the summon had had enough, Zhane turned to his friends. "Well…it seems like we got a mission to save the world." he said.

"What are you talking about?" Davis asked. He had had enough with the mysterious. He wanted answers.

Zhane looked around. "I think that this place is called the chamber of heroes. Apparently Bahamut was protecting this place and by defeating him, I earned the right or something to come in here." he then pointed at the shield. "I also got this shield to use in battle against this 'calamity of the skies thing'."

"Okay, start again with this place." Davis said.

"I think I understand…" Ken said. He examined the shield closely, muttering to himself as he did. "I need to do some research…we need to return back to Midgar."

"Wait, what about the treasure?" Davis asked.

"This is the treasure." Zhane pointed at the relics near the statue. "Once we defeat a summon and get its Materia, we come here and one of these will turn into a special weapon that was forged in the life stream…whatever that means."

"So you're telling me that we have to fight creatures that can wipe out entire armies?" Davis asked. When Zhane nodded, he sighed. "Granny's right, you do go looking for trouble."

"Hey!"

"Um…Zhane? Can we go now? I'm not feeling so well…" the three of them turned to Yuffie. She looked pale, well paler than usual and she didn't look like she could last much longer inside of there.

"Shit! That's right! Normal people can't be exposed to this much raw Mako for extended periods of time!" Zhane nearly shouted. He moved to placed his shield over his back when it suddenly shrunk into the red Materia. Confused, Zhane simply pocketed it for later and scooped the young girl up in his arms. "Any of you got a haste Materia?"

"Yea…" Davis cast the spell and Zhane was off. "Come on…lets get out of here…that statue is giving me the creeps."

"Alright…" Ken followed his brother out of the room. One thing was for sure, they would be coming back there again.

**End of chapter.**

Well what did you think? Not much action but it does give you an idea of the future. I didn't want to just copy and paste the story from the game and just add my characters to it. So instead, I'm going to actually create a new story using the events from the games as plot points. But believe me, you will not see the ending coming. Hell, I just came up with it and even I'm shocked. But it will be worth it. Now I just gotta type up the chapters that come in between this chapter and the final one. No biggie.

Well till next time.


	15. Cloud Gets The Talk

**I don't own FF7.**

**As you can probably tell, Cloud will be receiving the 'Talk'. Now, I'm not going to go into much detail because then I'd have to change the rating from T to M. **

**Anyways, due to the drop in reviews, I think I might be updating too quickly. Plus the fact that it seems like I'm not getting much attention as well since no one new ever reviews. So I think I'm gonna stop updating as soon as I finished a chapter and just hold it till Friday. So unless I start getting a large demand for chapters, I'm going to update only on Fridays. I think that will work out for the best. Its not like it takes me a long time to write, actually, I'm a pretty fast writer. On average I can finish a 12 page chapter in like half an hour. When I'm fired up, I sometimes forget to stop and check for errors. Lol. **

**But anyways, the next chapter will be up on Friday. Now if you'll excuse me, I got some reading to catch up on. Enjoy!**

**Soldier **

**Chapter 15: Cloud Gets "The Talk"**

"What happened?" Cloud asked.

The blond had been waiting for the better part of 12 hours outside of the entrance. He had made a make shift camp and had created a fire as well. Now the four soldiers sat around the fire while Yuffie slept in the tents.

"Yea, can you explain it again, I'm still not sure I follow." Davis asked.

"Well, it all began after the fight with Bahamut. When we entered the chamber of heroes, he actually started speaking to me." Zhane pulled out the summon from his pocket. "Its quiet now but when he spoke, it sounded like he was shouting at me. My head felt like it was being split in two. Bahamut told me about some calamity from the skies that fell years ago, probably before civilization was born. He should me images, flashes of battles. They looked like they hadn't even discovered how to forge metal yet before their weapons were made out of stone and wood."

"Could you see where the battles took part in?" Ken asked.

Zhane shook his head. "Not really…it all looked the same to me. But if I had to take a guess, I'd say it happened up north. Bahamut mentioned something about the calamity landing up there."

"So where are these summons that we have to find?" Davis asked.

"You keep mentioning that. Why do we need to find them?" Cloud asked.

"Well, Bahamut told me that if we can defeat the other summons that fought along side him that we will have earned the right not only to summon them but to wield a powerful weapon that was forged in the life stream." Zhane explained. "Since I beat him, I got this shield. It looked really cool but some how it got sucked inside of the Materia."

"The shield is inside of the summon?" Cloud asked.

"Yea…its hard to believe but I know its in there…I can feel it." Zhane stared down at the sphere in his hands. "Its strange…but its almost as if this Materia is special…unique…there are other summon Materia, probably other copies of Bahamut as well. But I've never seen a summon Materia this…alive."

"Alive?"

"Its hard to explain…maybe its only me but when I look at it, I can see something moving in the inside. Like a heart beat." Zhane explained. "I think…if you guys defeat your own summon that you will see what I see."

"Well there's no way to prove it right now. We'll just have to wait and see." Ken commented. He took everything his brother said in and began to put the pieces together. It seemed like the world was in danger and they were the only ones who knew it. Would anyone else believe them? Should they even tell anyone?

"Ken? Are you okay?" Davis asked. He waved his hand in front of his brother's face to try and get his attention. When his eyes focused on Davis, he stopped.

"Yea…but I'm wondering if we should tell someone or keep this between us." Ken asked them. "There are obviously several reasons for both."

"Well…Bahamut said we need six, remember?" Zhane said. "There's only four of us. We need at least two more."

"What about Zack and Kunsel?" Cloud suggested. "We know them and we've fought alongside them."

"But can they be trusted?" Davis asked. "I'm not saying that they can't. But you've only known them how long?"

"I've known Zack for almost two months now…" Cloud told them.

"So? Zack is cool. And so is Kunsel." Zhane said, siding with Cloud. "We can trust them."

"Alright, lets say that we do tell them. What then? Will they even believe us?" Ken asked them.

"Of course they will!" Zhane pointed at his brother. "Do you really think I would trust someone blindly if I didn't think they'd believe me?"

Without skipping a beat, Davis and Ken answered. "Yes."

"Haha, very funny." Zhane grumbled. "But seriously, we can tell them. Besides we're just Thirds, we're gonna need back up."

"That brings us to my next point." Ken continued. "We're just Third Class Soldiers. We're not even the strongest of the Thirds and yet we've been given a mission that decides the fate of the world."

"What are you trying to say?" Davis asked, not liking what was being implied. "Are you saying that we can't cut it?"

"Zhane nearly died fighting against Bahamut. And if this calamity, whatever it is, can defeat Bahamut and the rest of his comrades, then what chance do we have?" Ken asked them. "I'm all for saving the planet but seriously, what chance do we have?"

For a moment no one spoke. The truth in Ken's words stung them and even Zhane was quiet. Seeing that his words had done what he intended, Ken continued. "I'm not saying that we shouldn't try. that's not it. But maybe, we should consider telling Director Lazard. If not him, then at least someone who we know will listen. If Zack will believe us then fine, lets tell him. But maybe, we should consider telling Sephiroth."

"Sephiroth?" they all asked.

"Yes. There's no doubt that Sephiroth is the strongest Soldier alive. He could probably beat the four of us without even breaking a sweat and without Materia. I'm not even sure we could touch the guy." Ken was being brutally honest with them and he could see their confidence being cracked. But he had to do it. He was the only one being realistic. "If we can get Zack to believe us, then lets ask him to talk to Sephiroth for us. Otherwise, we might as well just give up. Because if we can't even beat Sephiroth how in the world can we save it?"

Zhane knew that what Ken had said was true. But he'd be damned if he would give up. "You're wrong." he stood up and held out his sword. He gripped it with both hands and pressed the flat side of the blade against his forehead. Closing his eyes, he thought back to what Zack had told them, had told him. "Embrace your dreams…and no matter what, always protect your Soldier Honor." he lowered his sword and turned to stare at his friends/brothers. "These were the orders given to us by Zack on the day we became members of Soldier. On both my Soldier Honor and my dreams, I won't give up. Even if I have to face this calamity on my own, I will still fight." his eyes burned with a determination that shocked them all. "And to prove to you that we have what it takes, I'm going to challenge Sephiroth to a fight and I'm gonna win!"

"Are you nuts?" Davis was the first to speak and question Zhane's sanity. "You can't fight Sephiroth!"

"Davis's right, Sephiroth is way to strong for you, for any of us!" Cloud said, trying to reason with his friend.

"What do you think this will accomplish?" Ken asked, eyeing his brother. "Do you think that seeing you fight foolishly against Sephiroth is going to make any difference?"

"I guess we'll see, won't we?" Zhane replied. "But keep in mind, whether we like it or not, this is our mission." he turned around and walked toward the edge of fire's light. Glancing over his shoulder he added. "Or at least, its my mission." and with that, Zhane ventured into the shadows and vanished from their sight.

(/_\) (￣ー￣) (/_\)

Zhane eventually returned to camp before sunrise. He had slept in a tree about a mile away. As he entered the camp, he was surprised to see Ken and Cloud sparring against one another.

"Yo Zhane, you're back!" Davis called cheerily. "You had us worried for a moment."

"What's going on?" Zhane nodded toward Cloud and Ken.

"Well, last night, when you reminded us about Zack's orders, we felt like you were right." Davis explained. "We were giving up without even trying. What kind of Soldiers would we be if we couldn't even protect our own honor? So after you left, we started talking and Cloud sort of convinced us that if we weren't strong enough to protect the world that we'd just have to get stronger."

"So you guys are training now?" Zhane asked. He was glad to see that he wouldn't have to go it alone. His friend and his brothers had his back.

"Yup. The four of us were the best of our class, we figure that we can train together to become even stronger. Speaking of which, you and I should spar too."

"Maybe later. I'm still sore from fighting Bahamut." Zhane said. As he looked around, he noticed that Yuffie wasn't out yet. "Is she still sleeping?"

"Yuffie? She went to the river a few minutes ago. She should be back soon." Davis told him. "I do have a question though. What are we gonna do with her?"

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, how is she getting back home?" Davis asked.

Zhane stared at his brother for several moments before it hit him. Yuffie lived in Wutai. "Um…I'm not sure…" he finally said.

"We can't take her without seeming suspicious. After all, it was in Wutai that the MSD happened, remember?" Davis said, referring to the mass Soldier desertion. "If we go to Wutai without orders, we'll probably be labeled as traitors or something."

"What if she comes with us?" Zhane suggested. "She could stay with Granny and Gramps."

"Alright but if we get in trouble, I'm blaming you." Davis shrugged. "I just hope that we can get there before nightfall. I'm hungry for some good sushi."

(/_\) (￣ー￣) (/_\)

The ride back had been uneventful. The pilot didn't care that they brought a small child with them, apparently Soldier members brought orphans with often enough for it to be considered normal.

After arriving, Zhane took Yuffie back to his apartment before heading back to the Shinra building for debriefing. After that was done, the four Soldiers said their goodbyes and went to get some much needed rest.

So when it came to waking up the next morning, Zhane was surprised to see Cloud, Ken, Davis, and Zack in his bedroom staring down at him with shocked expression.

"Hey guys…um…what's up?" Zhane said, stretching and yawning as he did. But mid-stretch, Zhane felt something brush against his side. "Huh?"

Looking down, he saw Yuffie cuddled up against him. He blinked once. Then twice. Then a third time before he looked up at his friends. "This isn't what it looks like."

"Dude, relax. We know nothing happened." Davis said, waving off Zhane's explanation. "Besides, we haven't see anyone cuddle with you since Hikari used to years ago."

"And we got this lovely picture of you two while you slept." Zack added as he showed Zhane the picture on his phone.

"How did she end up on your bed?" Cloud asked.

"I'm not sure…she was sleeping on the couch before I dozed off." Zhane explained. He slowly got up, careful not to wake the sleeping girl. "She must've climbed in after I fell asleep."

"it's a good thing you usually sleep in your clothes." Ken said. "Or else we'd be having a totally different conversation."

"Actually, what are you guys doing here anyways?" Zhane asked. He walked over to his dresser and pulled them open. He pulled out a new Soldier Third Class uniform and some other things.

"Actually, these three said that you wanted to tell me something." Zack said. "They didn't go into details so I'm hoping that you can fill me in."

"Well let me shower first. Then I'll explain everything." Zhane said before heading into his bathroom.

(/_\) (￣ー￣) (/_\)

"And that's the story." Zhane finished. He had finished explaining to Zack the story behind their last mission. Zhane had actually expected Zack to laugh but to his surprise, Zack seemed to believe him.

"I'm impressed. You actually survived a fight against Bahamut." Zack said, giving the younger teen a large smile. "I fought against Bahamut not too long ago so I know how hard a fight it is."

"You've fought against Bahamut?" Zhane asked. "Did he talk to you too?"

"Nope, can't say that he has. I think that the summon Materia you got is a special one." Zack explained. "I got my summon Materia after it was used to kill me. Besides, I don't think I've used a single one of them since I've gotten them."

"Why not?" Cloud asked.

"Well I haven't had a reason to use them yet. I've been able to defeat all my enemies with my own strength." Zack said.

"So will you help us?" Ken asked, bringing them all back to the matter at hand.

"Of course!" Zack said. "You guys are my friends so there's no doubt that I will help. But if I understood you guys right, then I have to fight a summon that will speak to me, right?"

"Yea." they nodded.

"Well once I do, I'll let you know. And even if I'm don't find one, I'll still help. There's no way that I'm gonna let you save the world without me!" Zack flashed them a large grin. "Its my dream to be a hero and saving the world will help me accomplish that dream!"

"So what about the part with Sephiroth?" Ken asked. "Do you think you can talk to him for us?"

"I'll try but I'm not making any promises…" Zack told them. "After all, its not like he and I are the best of friends or anything." then Zack got up and gave them a playful grin. "So now that that's settled, how about we get some special training done?"

"What do you mean?" Cloud asked.

"I've been dying to see what you guys are made of. Let's head over to the training room and have the four of you spar against me." Zack said, obviously excited over the idea.

"Um…but you're a First, there's no way we can beat you." Ken pointed out.

"That's not the point." Zack said. "I just want to see how strong you guys are. That way I'll now how to help you get stronger in order to save the world. With my help, I'm sure that you guys can get promoted to Second class in no time!"

"You really think so?" Cloud asked.

"I know so!" Zack grinned.

"Hey, what are we gonna do about Yuffie?" Zhane asked.

"Why don't we drop her off at granny's before heading over to the Shinra Building?" Davis suggested. "I mean, that was the reason we brought her, right?"

"Yea. Alright, I'll wake her up." Zhane said as he got off the couch.

"So what's your granny like?" Zack asked as Zhane headed into his room.

"Granny Yoshino is great. She'll treat you like family no matter who you are. Its grandpa Shikaku you gotta watch out for." Davis warned.

"Why? What's the matter with him?" Zack asked.

Davis and Ken shared a laughed. "You'll see."

(/_\) (￣ー￣) (/_\)

"So I take it you two have met?" Zhane asked.

After waking Yuffie up, the five Soldiers made their way down to the train station. Along the way, Yuffie kept staring up at Zack, almost glaring at the First. It wasn't until they entered the train that Zack finally noticed the young girl's staring. When he got a good look at her, Zack gasped as he leaped back, eyes wide and arm extended in Yuffie's direction, finger inches from her face.

"You!" the First shouted in surprise.

"Its about time you remember me, you jerk!" Yuffie shouted angrily, pointing her own finger up at Zack.

"So I take it you two have met?" Zhane asked, somewhat amused by the turn of events.

"Yea, this ugly butt-face here attacked my home and I defeated him in a fight. I'm surprised he had the guts to show his face to me after that." Yuffie stated, her eyes never leaving Zack's.

"Hold on, that's not what happened." Zack said quickly. "Back when I was newly promoted to Second, Angeal and I went to Wutai near the end of the war. While I was storming the base, I ran into this kid and she was saying something about a rose or something like that. Since she was like 9, I let her hit me and I pretended to be knocked out so that she would leave."

"Don't lie, I beat you fair and square!" Yuffie said. Zhane actually had to grab Yuffie and hold her back as she prepared to lunge. "I'll take you on again right here right now!"

"Calm down!" Zhane struggled to her hold while the train moved. "We know you beat him, Zack's just embarrassed and he doesn't want to admit the truth."

"He's right. I totally lost to a 9 year old girl." Zack said, holding his hands up in front of him.

This seemed to calm the young girl down as she stopped struggling against Zhane's hold. She glared at the First before crossing her arms over her chest and huffing. "You are such a jerk." she said.

"You know…I can see why Zhane and Cloud like this guy so much." Davis said as he turned to face Ken. "He's pretty funny."

"I know what you mean. I don't think I've been this entertained since that time that Zhane took Cloud to that gay bar back in Costa Del Sol last year." Ken agreed.

"Gay bar?" Zack asked, his eyebrow raised.

"You don't want to know." Cloud said, shaking head him.

"I think I do." Zack said, turning toward their blue haired friend.

"The whole thing was suppose to be a joke." Zhane explained. He looked apologetically toward Cloud. "I didn't mean for that guy to hit on you."

"What about the kiss?" Davis asked. "That was hilarious."

"What kiss?" Yuffie asked.

"Care to elaborate?" Zack asked, wanting to hear more.

"This guy…tried to kiss me." Cloud said, his face turning slightly red.

"Did he?" Zack asked.

Cloud shook his head. "No, Zhane intervened. He told the guy that I was his and that he would get a bitch slap if he tried to take his man."

"The more a hang out with you guys, the more I find myself liking you each and everyday." Zack said. "I have a feeling that we're gonna be the best of friends for years to come."

(/_\) (￣ー￣) (/_\)

"Ah, you're back." Shikaku beamed as he opened the door. "Come in, come in."

"Hey gramps, how's it hanging?" Davis greeted as he led the others in.

"Its hanging alright," Shikaku grinned. "Like a horse."

"I did not need that mental image in my brain." Zhane groaned.

"Then why'd you picture it, eh? And you say my minds a cesspool." Shikaku said. Then the older man turned toward his new guests and introduced himself. "Hello there, you must be Cloud and Zack, I've heard about you two from my grandson. it's a pleasure to meet you."

"Hello." Cloud said as he shook the old man's hand. "Hey there, I'm Zack." Zack greeted.

"So you're the immature First, eh?" Shikaku said, eyeing the teen. "You remind me a lot Zhane here. You look like you go looking for trouble too."

"Heh…trouble usually finds me, sir." Zack said sheepishly.

"In any case, its good to see that my boy has such nice friends." Shikaku said, giving Zack a large smile.

"Where's granny and the kids?" Zhane asked, noticing that they weren't around.

"They went shopping." Shikaku told him. "We were out of milk and other things."

"And they wall went?" Davis asked.

"Now that you boys are making so much money, we can afford to buy more than just the bare essentials." Shikaku explained. "Yoshino promised to buy them some candy if they helped her with the bags."

"That's good to hear." Ken said.

"So what brings you boys here?" Shikaku asked as he sat down on the couch.

"The thing is, gramps, that we were wondering if you and granny could look after Yuffie here for a bit." Zhane asked.

"Another one?" Shikaku asked, not sounding at all surprised. "Is she joining the family too?"

"No, she just needs a place to stay until we can take her back to her home." Ken explained.

"Well that's fine with me. I'm sure Yoshino won't mind at all." Shikaku said. He then turned to look at Yuffie. "Hello there, little girl, I'm Shikaku."

"Hello, I'm Yuffie Kisaragi." she introduced herself. While she wasn't one for formalities, she was practically a princess and had been raised as one. She knew when to be formal and when to be herself. "Thank you for allowing me in your home."

"So you got manners, eh?" Shikaku seemed pleased. "I like you already."

"Hey gramps, before we forget, do you think you could do us one more favor?" Davis asked as he wrapped his arm around Cloud. "Do you think you could give my friend here the 'talk'?"

"The talk?" Zack asked, confused by Davis's request.

"Maybe we should wait for another time." Ken suggested but it was too late.

"Nonsense, there no better time than the present!" Shikaku said happily. "Now everyone have a seat, this will take a while."

"Um…Zhane?" Cloud looked pleadingly toward his best friend, hoping for salvation. Unfortunately there was none to be had.

"Sorry Cloud, but as part of your initiation you must have gramps here give you the facts of life." Zhane said. He grabbed a hold of Yuffie's hand and began to lead her out of the living. "Yuffie on the other is too young to hear this kind of talk."

"Hey, I'm not a kid, you know!" Yuffie protested.

"If she wants to stay, let her. She might learn a thing or two." Shikaku said.

"He's not talking about _the_ talk, is he?" Zack asked Ken.

"I'm afraid so…" Ken muttered. "There's no getting out of it now. We're just gonna have to bear it now."

"So Cloud, tell me, do you know how to masturbate?" Shikaku asked, his tone as casual as if one were simply talking about the weather.

"What?"

"Oh dear, I guess I'll have to start from the beginning." Shikaku said, though he appeared to have no problem. In fact, he seemed pleased with the challenge. "Well Cloud, my boy, all men are born with penises, I'm sure you know about that. After all, you must've at least taken a piss at least once in your life. If you haven't, then I'm afraid you're in need of some other help. Anyways, during certain periods of a man's life, they will experience something called arousal. When that happens, the penis will harden and lengthen, this is called an erection…"

As Shikaku began to go into further detail about the male anatomy, Zhane tried his best to cover Yuffie's ears. Judging by the rosy blush on her cheeks that steadily grew darker, she was definitely learning a thing or 12. She wasn't the only one, Cloud and, surprisingly, Zack also sported deepening blushes. If Yuffie wasn't in the room, Zhane would've found the situation hilarious. As it was, he was wondering if there was a therapist in Midgar that could help Yuffie and Cloud recover from the lecture they were receiving. Probably not.

**End of chapter. **

Well what did you think? I'm pretty sure that you all figured that Zack would help them without question. But can they convince Sephiroth? After all, he is the strongest Soldier in history. But what about the calamity in the sky? How will all this play out? I guess you'll have to read to find out.

Till next time.


	16. First And Third

**I don't own FF7. But in some alternate dimension, not only do I own it, I'm also Batman. At least according to the Multiverse Theory. That means that in another Dimension, you all own FF7 too! **

**Anyways, this chapter was suppose to be a long one but I decided to make it into two. You'll see the reason why I decided to split it near the end. **

**Soon the story will pick up as we head into the next story arc, the Turks will be an important role as they face a dangerous situation. All of them will be making an appearance and they will team up with Soldier. But enough about that, lets get on with the chapter. Enjoy! **

**Soldier **

**Chapter 16: First And Third**

Two hours later we find our heroes walking toward the train station to head back to Sector 8. The 'talk' had been given to them in full force, especially after Yuffie began asking all sorts of questions that 11 years olds shouldn't even be thinking about, much less asking.

Davis, Ken, and Zhane were used to it so they were able to shake it off with the minimal of mental scaring (they couldn't figure out how their grandfather could come up with new things to scar them with). But their other two companions weren't as lucky.

"I'm not sure if I should be scared of your grandpa or worship him as a god." Zack said as they entered the train.

"Probably both." Davis commented. "That man has lived way too long."

"And granny, I don't think I'll ever be able to look her in the eyes again." Ken said with a sigh. "She actually encourages him. She's just as bad as he is."

"I'm starting to think that leaving Yuffie with them was a bad idea." Zhane said after a moment of thought. "I don't want her applying what gramps talked about at any point in her life."

"By the looks of it, the only one she's going to be applying that knowledge is you." Davis said, giving his brother a mischievous grin.

"That's just sick, man. She's a kid!" Zhane said with a frown. "And even when she's old enough, I'm still like 5 years older than her. It would be weird."

"Not to her." Zack pointed out.

"Who's side are you on?" Zhane asked him, pointing a finger at the first. Turning away, he looked out the window before saying, "Besides, I'm in Soldier…that alone makes it impossible for me to give Yuffie the time of day she would want. Not to mention that I'm one of six destined to save the world…no, it would be better to just send her home and have her forget all about me."

"Ah, to see a silent tragic hero do what's right for the one he loves…this is the stuff great sagas are written about." Ken said, striking a dramatic pose. "It reminds me of Loveless Act 2 & 3 where the hero finds love but then must leave her to complete the promise he made to his friends."

"You read Loveless?" Zack asked.

"Of course! it's the greatest literary piece in all of history, who wouldn't read it?" Ken asked.

"Hey, Cloud, are you alright?" Davis asked, getting the attention of the other three.

"What's the matter, man?" Zhane asked as he neared his friend.

Cloud was staring down at his feet with a vacant expression. He seemed lost in this thoughts and he wasn't even aware that they were speaking to him.

"Yo, Cloud!" Davis said as he pinched the blond. This brought him out of his thoughts with start.

Looking around, he seemed surprised that they were standing around him. Then in the most serious voice that they had ever heard, Cloud said. "…I feel violated…"

Immediately Zhane burst out laughing as he remembered their earlier conversation. Not far behind him, Ken and Davis soon joined him as they too remembered the talk they had with Cloud before their mission. The only one who seemed unsure of whether to laugh or be concerned was Zack.

"Am I missing something here?" he asked the young Thirds.

Cloud turned to Zack and explained to him what had happened with Rikku three nights ago. Once he was done, Zack began laughing with Zhane, Ken, and Davis. After about five minutes, they calmed down enough to talk once more.

"Oh my god, Cloud, you are the luckiest guy I know." Zack finally managed to say. "You most definitely weren't raped. You were given an experience that most men would kill for."

"But what Shikaku did to you, that could be considered mind rape." Zhane added. "Unless you choose to learn from the man and apply the knowledge he has bestowed upon you. The your mind rape will no longer be considered mind rape, it would be a blessing. A blessing bestowed by the Guru of love, Shikaku."

"Does his advise really work?" Cloud asked and Zhane noticed that Zack was listening closely as well.

"You bet your ass it does." Zhane said without a doubt. "At first I was skeptical but after I found this card that let me into Honey Bee Inn in Sector 6, I was convinced that Shikaku was a genius."

Zack and Cloud glanced at another before asking at the same time. "What's the Honey Bee Inn?"

"Its this brothel." Davis explained.

"You went to a brothel?" Zack asked. He had heard of them but he had never wanted to visit one. After all, his first time should be with someone he cared about…like Aeris, wait, what? "I thought they didn't let kids inside of those places?"

"If you got a membership card and cash, they let anyone in there." Zhane told him. "We went there just before joining the Shinra infantry. None of us wanted to die without experiencing the warmth of a woman so we used the card I found and had the time of our lives. Those girls might not have good morals but damn do they know their stuff."

"We had to drag Davis out of that place though…he enjoyed it way too much." Ken said as Davis gave them a sheepish grin.

"What can I say? I was hooked." Davis said.

"I'm not sure if I should be impressed or disappointed." Zack said as he crossed his arms over his chest. "But then again, after meeting your grandfather, I'm not really surprised that you'd get curious about sex."

"So when did you pop your cherry?" Davis asked, curious about Zack's love life.

"Excuse me?" this threw Zack for a loop. He had not been expecting that and to be honest, he was more surprised that he hadn't been expecting a question like that than the question itself.

"Yea, when's the fist time you had sex?" Zhane asked, sharing his brother's curiosity.

"Why would you ask me a question like that?" Zack asked, trying to divert their attention to something, anything else.

"Come on, after hearing gramps' lecture on the facts of life, you and Cloud are pretty much a part of our family now. You guys are officially our brothers." Zhane explained. "So big brother, tell us, when did you lose your virginity?"

Sighing, Zack shook his head before answering. "I haven't."

The four Thirds did a double take, glancing from Zack to themselves to back at Zack. "What?"

"I'm still a virgin." Zack told them.

"…really?" Zhane asked, surprised that Zack, the so called charmer of Soldier had yet to get any. "How?"

"I haven't met the right person yet." Zack explained. "While I understand that you grew up learning about sex at a young age and that you didn't want to die without experiencing the touch of woman, I was raised in a backwater town with more traditional views. Simply put, I was raised to only be with the one you love. Plain and simple."

"really?" Davis asked. The concept seemed so…alien to him. "That just sounds…weird…"

"Its definitely more traditional." Ken agreed. "I read in several books that with the coming of technology and the expansion of large cities that traditional views began to fade while more modern views took their place. Marriage has gone down while promiscuity has gone up. Especially with the rise in brothels and the like in major cities."

"What?" both Zhane and Davis asked, Zhane actually raising his right eyebrow as he did.

Sighing, Ken shook his head. "It means that those of us who grew up in Midgar aren't as traditional as those who grew up in smaller towns and villages." Ken explained. "To us, sex is like exercise, its not a big deal. But to Zack, its much more personal, more intimate." he turned toward the First. "I'm actually kind of jealous. I'll probably never get to experience an intimate moment as you will with your partner."

"So are you called us whores?" Davis asked, not really understanding his brother. "Cause I'm not a whore."

"No, you're not a whore. Just an idiot." Ken said with a shake of his head. "Alright I-Hey!"

"I think I can see what you meant, Zack." Zhane said as he ignored Davis. "I can respect a man with values like you. I don't understand them but I can respect them."

"So was I adopted?" Cloud said all of a sudden, causing them all to forget their current conversation.

"Huh?"

"You said that we're brothers now." Cloud explained. "So does that mean that I was adopted earlier?"

"Oh…well only if you want." Zhane said. "I mean, after all we've been through, you're practically my brother in all but blood. But if you don't want to then that's cool."

Cloud shook his head. "No, I want to." he flashed his friend a smile. "It'd be nice to have a brother."

"Hey don't forget about us, bro!" Davis said as he and Ken wrapped their arm around his shoulder. "You got yourself a whole family now. And that makes us your family just as much as you us."

"We'll introduce you to granny and the others later." Ken said. "I'm sure that she'll be delighted to have you."

"So what about me?" Zack asked. "Will she be delighted to have me as well?"

"Of course!" Davis said. "She's always wanted grandson who can look out for us. She's tired of having to pick one of us to be the oldest."

"Dude, I'm the oldest." Zhane told him.

"No, I am." Davis replied back.

"I thought I was?" Ken asked.

"No way/Not a chance in hell." Zhane and Davis said at the same time.

"Hey!" all three turned to look at Zack. "I'm the oldest now. So shut up."

(/_\) (￣ー￣) (/_\)

Kunsel looked screen and whistled in amazement. Zack had called him in to watch a special sparing match between him and four Third Class Solders. The match had been going on for the past 20 minutes and so far Kunsel was sure that Zack had bitten off more than he could chew. For one thing, he had given all of his Materia to Kunsel. And to even things out, he had left his Buster Sword with Kunsel as well to make sure that he wouldn't damage it.

"What's going on here?" turning toward the door, Kunsel saw Cissnei enter the room with Rikku, Tomoyo, and another Turk he had never met.

"Hey Cissnei. Zack is in there sparring against Cloud, Zhane, Davis, and Ken." Kunsel said with a greeting.

"Why are they fighting?" the fourth Turk asked. She was as tall as Kunsel was with long copper hair that was tied in a high ponytail. She seemed cheerful enough though Kunsel got the impression that she was the over-achiever type. "I'm Fuko by the way. Its nice to meet you."

"I'm Kunsel." he introduced himself. "And they're sparing because Zack wants to see how these four stack up against a First."

"What brought this on all of sudden?" Cissnei asked.

"I'm not sure but I think Zack wants to help them earn the rank of Second." Kunsel said. "Oh that was close."

"Yea, you go Cloud! Show him the moves momma taught ya!" Rikku shouted as she pumped her fist in the air.

The others simply watched as Rikku continued to cheer Cloud on.

(/_\) (￣ー￣) (/_\)

Leaping over the destroyed tank, Zack landed in the open clearing where the chance of a sneak attack was low. From the corner of his eye he spotted Ken rushing him with his blade drawn.

Smirking, Zack spun his Soldier issue sword and charged at Ken, meeting him head on. The two clashed in the center and Ken was quickly swept aside as Zack proved to be the stronger of the two. But as soon as Ken was out of his range, Zack was assaulted by Davis and Zhane.

Fending off their twin assault drove Zack back but he quickly put a stop to their advance. As their blades flashed in the sunlight, Zack blocked Davis's downward strike and pushed back, throwing the teen of balance. Then as he parried Zhane's slash, Zack spun around and kicked Davis in the chest.

Zhane flashed him a grin before he struck with redoubled speed. Zack could tell that Zhane had used Haste on himself. But despite the added speed, Zack blocked each blow with practiced ease. When it came to experience, Zhane was lacking and it showed in their duel.

"Not bad…" Zack said as he locked blades with Zhane. "You definitely got talent."

"Some talent…we haven't been able to land a single hit on you." Zhane said through gritted teethe. He was pushing against Zack's blade with all he had but he couldn't make the First budge. "Even with Haste, I can't outmaneuver you."

"That's because you're relying on magic to beat me." Zack told him. "Magic isn't gonna help you against me."

"Then what will?" Zhane asked.

"That, my friend, is something that you're gonna have to figure out on your own." Zack answered wisely.

They jumped back from one another and Zack stood his ground, signaling Zhane to bring it. But to his surprise, Zhane sheathed his sword and shook his head.

"I'm not gonna fall for that one." Zhane said. "If its one thing I've learned while facing stronger opponents its that you have to strategize."

"So you have a plan then?" Zack asked.

"Not really…out of the four of us, Ken's the smartest. He's the one who comes up with the plans." Zhane explained.

"Really? Then what does that make you?"

"Me? I'm mixture of the four of us." Zhane said. "Cloud's the strongest, Davis is the fastest, Ken's the smartest. I'm stronger than Davis and Ken, I'm faster than Cloud and Ken, and I'm smarter than Cloud and Davis. But most importantly, I'm also the one who talks the most."

"Huh? What does that have to do with anything?" Zack asked, confused by the Third's remark.

"It was my job to get you talking, to distract you." Zhane explained. "Just so that you wouldn't see that coming!"

Zack quickly turned around but he was too late for as he made the turn a fist collided with his face, knocking him down. Shaking his head, he looked up just in time to see Cloud draw his sword and press it against his chest.

"We win." Cloud said, a small smile gracing his lips.

Zack couldn't help it, he burst out laughing. He was soon joined by the four Thirds as they celebrated their victory. Soon the virtual battlefield dissolved and was replaced by the training room of the Soldier Floor.

"Wow, I can't believe that you guys actually beat Zack." Kunsel said as he entered the room.

"I gotta hand it to these guys, they sure know how to work together." Zack said as he was helped up by Zhane.

"We're friends, of course we know how to work together." Zhane said with pride. "but more than that, we're brothers."

"You guys are all brothers?" a new voice asked.

Turning toward the door, they saw that Kunsel wasn't alone. He was accompanied by four Turks, four very attractive female Turks. Three of them they already knew, Cissnei, Tomoyo, and Rikku. But the fourth Turk was new and she had been the one to ask.

"Since when is Cloud your brother?" Rikku asked as she wrapped her arm around the blonde's shoulder, pulling him close.

"Since this morning." Davis said, flashing them a grin. "Him and Zack here were adopted after receiving gramps wisdom."

"Wisdom?" Kunsel asked, his brow raised.

"I'll tell you later." Zack promised.

"Hello there, my name is Ken Ichijouji, its nice to meet you." Ken said as he introduced himself to the new Turk.

"Hi, I'm Fuko." the Turk replied cheerfully. "So you guys are brothers? what's it like to have so many?"

"Its great. I mean, there are times when it's a pain but I wouldn't change them for anything in the world." Ken said, glancing over at his brothers. "One of the things I love about them is that they keep things interesting," he nodded toward Zhane, "Watch."

Zhane was jumping up and down on his feet, punching the air in front of him as if it were a punching bag. "We were able to take down Zack, a First! With enough training, I bet I'll be able to take on Sephiroth as well!"

"Maybe if he were in a coma." Rikku told him. "You've never seen Sephiroth in action, you don't know the things he's capable of."

"Tch, I don't care. He's never faced a guy like me before." Zhane said, dismissing Rikku's comment.

"You're right, he's never faced an idiot before." Kunsel said. "Kid, as impressive as it was to score a win against Zack, you guys got lucky."

"How do you figure?" Davis asked.

"Zack left his Materia with me as well as his Buster Sword. Not only that but he was going easy on you guys from the start." Kunsel explained. "There were several times during that match that he let you get away when someone like Sephiroth would've just finished you off. Zack might be a lot of things, but a rookie isn't one of them."

"I underestimated them and they won." Zack said. "They earned their victory against me. They should be proud."

"Proud of what?"

They all turned toward the direction of the voice and they were shocked to see none other than Sephiroth standing by the door. He wore an amused sort of smirk as he made his way toward Zack. He eyed the young Soldiers briefly before speaking once more.

"Hello Zack…" he greeted the First.

"Hey there, Sephiroth. What brings you here?" Zack greeted.

"I was told by director Lazard that you were training some of the new Thirds." Sephiroth said. His eyes landed on Zhane. "I watched your little match…I heard that this one…wants to face me."

"I got a name, you know." Zhane said as he stared down the First. To everyone's surprise, Sephiroth actually seemed amused by Zhane's defiant stare.

"I'm sure that you do…" Sephiroth replied calmly enough. "But since you're just a pawn, you can't honestly expect me to bother learning it."

"My name is Zhane Kamiya." Zhane told him. "I suggest you remember it…"

"And why should I?"

"Because that's the name of the guy who's gonna kick your sorry ass!" Zhane declared confidently.

The individual conversations that were going on amongst everyone else stopped as all eyes turned toward Zhane. Davis and Ken hurried over to his side and asked at the same time.

"Are you nuts?" they practically shouted.

"Dude, you can't take on Sephiroth, he's a First!" Davis said as he shook his brother. "He'll kill you, man!"

"Davis, stop shaking him!" Ken said as he smacked Davis's arm. "Zhane, Davis is right, you can't take him on, he's too strong."

"Listen to them, boy…" Sephiroth told him. Whether intentionally or not, the look in Sephiroth's eyes told Zhane that he was being looked down on. He was inferior to Sephiroth in every way and that he didn't even deserve to be acknowledged.

It was this looked that fueled Zhane's urge to prove himself against Sephiroth. True, there was huge difference in their abilities but that wouldn't discourage him. Zhane had to see what he was made of and the only way to do that was to fight the strongest Soldier had to offer. If he could stand his ground against the best then maybe he could save the world. If not…well then there was no point in even trying.

Sephiroth saw the burning determination within the young Third's eyes. Despite his own brothers telling him that it was pointless, he still wanted to fight. Perhaps it was stupidity that drove the boy or maybe even foolish courage but whatever it was, Sephiroth suddenly felt generous.

"Alright, I'll grant you this one gift." Sephiroth said, surprising them all. "I accept your challenge, boy."

A large grin spread across Zhane's face. "I hope you're ready for the beating of your life!"

"That's funny…" the First said with an amused tone. "I was just about to say the same thing…" Sephiroth's blade, the Masamune, materialized in his right hand. "And believe me…by the time I'm thru with you, you're gonna be wishing I had killed you…"

But despite the open threat, Zhane felt no fear. Just the opposite, he felt excitement. His blood burned as if on fire and his heart pumped faster than ever before. The anticipation, the rush he felt, Zhane knew that he would never get another chance like this. To face a God…it was a once in a lifetime chance. And he would make it count…even if it killed him.

**End of chapter. **

Well what did you think? In the next chapter Zhane will face Sephiroth. With everyone watching, will Zhane manage to survive or will he be destroyed before their very eyes. What do you guys think is gonna happen?

Sorry if the ending seemed a little out there, I was trying to figure out where exactly to end it. So in the end I decided to rewrite the ending to the one you see there. I'm not really happy with it but I posted it anyways cause I don't think I could make it any better if I tried.

Zack and Cloud were adopted and now Zack is the oldest of the siblings, putting an end to their dilemma of who's the oldest. But will this change anything or will it simply not matter? I guess we'll find out. After all, even the closest of brothers can be torn apart by the cruelty of the world. And for those of you who have played the game and seen the story, you know that the world can be cruel, especially in this one.

The next chapter will be up next Friday. I'll probably already have it done by Wednesday though. Well till next time.


	17. David vs Goliath

**I don't own FF7.**

**Welcome to the next chapter of Soldier. This chapter features the match between Zhane and Sephiroth. I was actually going to make this chapter longer than it is now but I've gotten a second job and my time was shortened. Still, I think I made it a decent length and I'm happy with the fight as it turned out. Now, I don't want to ruin the fight so I won't talk about it much. But in the next chapter, we will begin the next story arc and that means new threats and a new mission for our heroes. They will all be joining forces with the Turks. Yes, you heard me right, Zack will lead Cloud, Zhane, Ken, and Davis on a mission alongside the Turks, all of them.**

**Also, because of my busy schedule, chances are that my chapters might get shorter. If that happens, then the next arc might span several chapters more than I originally planned. Not sure if that's a plus or a minus. **

**Well, enough about that. Enjoy!**

**Soldier **

**Chapter 17: David vs. Goliath **

Zack wore a frown as he watched the fight about to commence. He wasn't the only one, everyone was against this fight but no one tried to stop it. Well, one person did and she was still in there talking to Zhane. Zack just hoped that Tomoyo could talk some sense into him. After all, Sephiroth wasn't someone you could afford to take lightly. He was the strongest Soldier for a reason and Zack was afraid that Zhane would find that out the hard way.

(/_\) (￣ー￣) (/_\)

Tomoyo stood beside Zhane as they waited for everyone to exit the room. As she waited, she looked down at the young teen and wondered if he was incredibly brave or stupid. Probably both, she figured. Still, she knew that nothing anyone said would make a lick of difference. He was a fighter after all and fighters didn't back down from a fight. She knew that feeling all too well.

"I don't know why you want to fight him but listen up." she said once they were alone with Sephiroth. She spoke low enough for only Zhane to hear, hoping that Sephiroth didn't have enhanced hearing. Turks weren't informed about the special abilities of Soldiers unless they went rogue and even then all of their secrets weren't revealed. "Don't go for the head on approach, that's simply suicide. Instead, use your Materia to out smart him when the opportunity arises. But don't rely on it, you don't want to tire yourself out right away." she nodded toward the sword. "Beware the Masamune…that sword can cut through anything. Soldier issue swords can withstand several blows from the Masamune but eventually it will break under the strain."

"Thanks, that's good to know." Zhane nodded. "Anything else?"

"Yea…this." she placed her hands on the sides of his face and leaned in to kiss him. She normally wasn't one for public displays of affection but this was a special case, she wanted to give him a reason to win, a reason to fight. And even though she didn't want to admit it, she was afraid this would be last time she would get to kiss the young Soldier. Pulling away, she whispered. "Kick his ass."

Zhane simply nodded dumbly as Tomoyo walked away.

As Tomoyo made her way toward the exit, she came to a stop beside Sephiroth. For the most part Sephiroth ignored her, instead choosing to keep his eyes on Zhane.

"If you hurt him…you'll have to deal with me." she stated simply, not bothering to turn to face him.

"Is that a threat?" Sephiroth asked, sounding more amused than concerned.

"No. It's a promise." And with that she continued her way to the exit.

(/_\) (￣ー￣) (/_\)

Zack glanced toward the door as Tomoyo walked through it. He could see that she was concerned for Zhane, they all were. But he had a feeling that she was slightly more on edge than anyone else.

"Did you try to talk him out of it?" Zack asked as she came to stop in front of the large monitor beside him.

Tomoyo shook her head. "No…"

"Then I hope whatever advice you gave him will help him survive." Zack told her.

"Me too."

(/_\) (￣ー￣) (/_\)

"Any last words…?" Sephiroth asked. The room had changed, the were no longer standing in the Virtual Room. They now stood in an open plain with nothing but grass all around them.

"Yea…don't hold back!"

Zhane quickly cast Haste and Barrier on himself as he charged at the First. With the added speed, he appeared before the Soldier First Class member and slashed out with an outward swing. But all he cut was air as Sephiroth took a nimble step back. Left momentarily unguarded, Zhane was unable to block as the First commenced his attack.

With a single swing of his sword, Sephiroth struck Zhane's chest, the blow sending him flying over thirty yards away. The Barrier spell has stopped the blade from slicing him in two but as Zhane pulled himself up, he felt something trickle down his arms.

"What the…?" he had several cuts and scratches on his arms from what seemed like dozens of tiny slashes. He was sure that Sephiroth had only swung once so why had he received so much damage? Now wasn't the time for stray thoughts. He focused on the Restore Materia and cast Regen. Within seconds he felt his cuts close up and his health return to a 100%.

Picking up his sword, he readied himself to charge once more. But before he had even taken a single step, Sephiroth launched his own attack.

Sephiroth crossed the distance between them in a single leap, appearing before Zhane as if he had teleported. With his blade already raised, Zhane barely managed to brace himself as Sephiroth attacked. With just a single swing, Zhane was pushed back several yard, the back of his feet tearing up the ground behind him. But as he was defending himself, Zhane noticed something. His sword was hit multiple times despite only seeing one swing. That could only mean that Sephiroth could move a lot faster than his eyes could see.

Armed with this piece of information, Zhane prepared for the next strike. He kept his eyes focused on Sephiroth's blade. As the First made to strike, Zhane raised his own sword in defense. Zhane was able to _see_ each stroke of the blade as it made contact with his own. Each hit sent down a powerful vibration down to his hands, hurting him as he tried to hold on. And this time, he was able to block more effectively, cutting the distance he was being pushed back by in half.

But his accomplishment was short lived as Sephiroth followed up with a secondary strike and sent Zhane crashing into the ground, tearing up the grassy plain as he did. He could feel the numerous cuts all over his body even as they were being healed by Regen. Glancing at his sword, he saw that it had been chipped in several places. A few more hits like that and it would break.

"Damn…they weren't kidding, this guy's way out of my league." Zhane cursed under his breath. He propped himself up and stared up at the First that had earned the title of the Strongest Soldier ever born. In some ways, Sephiroth seemed like a god. But in others, Zhane couldn't help but see him as a monster.

"_Kid, can you hear me?"_

"Bahamut?" Zhane asked. He kept his voice low, making sure to whisper his thoughts.

"_Yes, it is I. Listen, the one you're facing right now…I can sense the Calamity's presence within him…" _Bahamut informed him.

"What? Do you mean that it somehow got inside of him?" Zhane asked. He was standing now, his sword held in front of him like a protective shield.

"_No, I sense that he is the Calamity. I don't know how to explain it but he's the source…" _Bahamut explained.

"Dude, there's no way that Sephiroth can be this calamity thing…he's a hero, a good guy!"

"_I'm telling you, I can sense its presence with him…as if he were a part of it. But that's not all…I've been able to sense small traces of it ever since we arrived in this city…I can sense it within your friends…" _Bahamut explained.

"Now I know you're tripping." Zhane said. "Look, my friends aren't evil, okay? And Sephiroth is the strongest Soldier we got, he's the only one who can actually fight this calamity."

"_I'm just telling you what I know and I can sense traces of it within your friends…I even sense a little within you…" _

"What?"

"_I said-"_

"I know what you said, what I meant was how? How can I have the calamity thing within me?"

"_I'm not sure…there's a chance that it might've produced offspring before it was sealed away…but whatever the reason, the strongest presence I can sense comes from the one you call Sephiroth." _

"Great…just great…this whole save the world thing just keeps getting better and better…" Zhane grumbled.

"Are you done whispering amongst yourself?" Sephiroth called out. He had been standing several yards away, watching Zhane seemingly talk to himself. While it did amuse him, he quickly grew bored. "I wish to end this as quickly as possible."

"Yea, yea, come at me bro!" Zhane shouted back.

"Very well…bro." Sephiroth said with a smirk.

At the same time, both Soldiers leaped at one another and clashed in midair. Zhane aimed to stab the First but to his surprise and horror, Sephiroth sliced through his sword from point to hilt in a flurry of steel. Momentarily stunned, Zhane could do nothing but watch in awe as Sephiroth punched him in the face and knocked him back down.

"What's the matter boy?" Sephiroth asked him as he landed beside Zhane. "Weren't you going to give me the beating of a lifetime?"

But Zhane couldn't answer. His cheek stung from the punch he took and not only that but now he was weaponless. Tomoyo was right, that sword could cut through anything.

Seeing that Zhane was not going to answer, Sephiroth released a sigh. "Its funny…I actually expected you to put up somewhat of a challenge…but that was rather foolish, wasn't it? I mean, its not like you're a First, you're not even a Second. I shouldn't of expected much from you to begin with, I only got my hopes up for nothing." He raised his hand up, aiming the tip of Masamune toward Zhane's chest. "But don't worry…I'll end this right no-"

During Sephiroth's little speech, Zhane had been steadily growing more pissed off by the second. His rage fueled his body to overcome the sense of defeat he was feeling and replaced it with an urge to fight, to show Sephiroth that he wasn't worthless. He wanted nothing more than to wipe that look of superiority off of his face. So as Sephiroth raised his blade, Zhane swept the First's legs out from under him.

Sephiroth had been caught off guard but he managed to push off the ground with his right hand and landed on his feet several yards away. But as he did, he was quickly assaulted by the younger Soldier in hand to hand combat. Unable to wield his Masamune in such close quarters, Sephiroth engaged him only using his right hand.

The Third was skilled in the martial arts, of that there was no doubt. Were this a martial arts fight, Sephiroth was sure that the teen would put up a much better fight. As it was, he was blocking each of the teen's strikes with one hand. But as each second passed by, Sephiroth began to struggle to keep up with the Third. Finally, a single fist broke through and Zhane's fist connected with his chin.

The blow was enough to make him stumble back a few feet but it wasn't enough to knock him down. And to his surprise, the blow actually stung.

"Huh…" Sephiroth stared at the surprised teen as he rubbed his chin. "That hurt."

"Um…sorry?" Zhane responded, unsure of what to do next.

"Not yet you're not…" Sephiroth spoke with an underlined promise of pain. No one had managed to touch him in years and because he had underestimated him, this kid had managed to get a glancing blow. Since the boy lacked a weapon to fight with, Sephiroth decided to even the odds. He stabbed his Masamune into the ground beside him before entering a fighting stance of his own. "But you will be…"

(/_\) (￣ー￣) (/_\)

"Did you see that?!" Davis all but shouted as he pointed at the screen. "He actually _hit _Sephiroth!"

"Davis, settle down!" Kunsel said as he moved the Third to the side. "You're blocking the screen."As Zack continued to watch, he saw that Sephiroth was going to engage Zhane in hand to hand combat. Soldier members were trained to fight in ever aspect of combat and Martial Arts were drilled into them before swords and fire arms were. He had never seen Sephiroth fight without his sword so he wasn't sure what his abilities were in martial arts but judging on what he did know, he was sure that Sephiroth could be considered a master.

"What do you think is gonna happen now?" Cloud asked him.

The two were standing side by side as they watched their friend battle against Sephiroth. "I'm not sure…no ones ever seen Sephiroth fight unarmed before." Zack told him. "But look at his face…he's pissed."

"Do you think Zhane's gonna win?" Cloud asked, knowing that the chances were slim to none.

Zack shook his head. "Even without his sword, Sephiroth is still stronger than I am. Hell, I don't think even I could beat him if I used all of my Materia and Buster Sword."

"He's that good, huh?" Cloud commented.

"No, he's better. Sephiroth hasn't been so much as scratched in his entire history of being in Soldier…believe me, I know. I looked at his combat records when I became a First. The difference between our levels is so vast…it would probably take the combined power of Soldier to take him out." Zack explained. For a moment, neither friend spoke. They watched as Zhane spun around and attempted to backhand Sephiroth only to hit open air. Sephiroth had ducked and as he came up, he delivered a powerful uppercut that sent Zhane flying upward.

"it's a good thing he's on our side, huh?" Cloud finally said.

"Yea…it's a good thing…" Zack agreed.

(/_\) (￣ー￣) (/_\)

Zhane twisted himself in midair and landed in a crouch. His chin felt as if it were on fire and he was sure that he had lost a tooth. But now wasn't the time to worry about that. Even without a weapon, Sephiroth was still just as formidable. Not only that but Zhane was sure that Sephiroth was just toying with him.

Feeling out his Materia, Zhane felt the barrier spell he had cast earlier finally cease. He wasn't going to cast it again, it would take too much energy. Luckily for him, Regen was still active. Unfortunately he had lost Haste back when Sephiroth cut his sword into pieces. He hadn't cast it again because he wanted to save it for just the right moment.

He stood up and motioned for Sephiroth to bring it. The First smirked before obliging, wasting little time in crossing the distance between them. Zhane ducked under the open palm strike that was aimed for his head and spun around as he arched his back, aiming to elbow the First in the chest. But Sephiroth saw it coming and leaped over Zhane.

As he landed, he spun around and aimed a heel kick toward the Third. Zhane sidestepped it and closed in on Sephiroth, aiming an open palm strike of his own. Sephiroth smirked as he caught the open palm with his own hand, holding Zhane in place. Then as Zhane attacked with his left, Sephiroth caught that one as well.

"You're good." Sephiroth stated.

"Thanks…you're not so bad yourself." Zhane said despite trying to break free of Sephiroth's grip.

"What say we end this?" Sephiroth asked, though he wasn't really expecting an answer. He pulled Zhane's arms back and bright his knee up, kneeing the teen in the gut. Then as Zhane struggled to breathe, Sephiroth cocked his fist back and planted it in Zhane's face.

The resulting smack resonated around them as Zhane was sent flying across the field. He was shot like a bullet and as he came crashing down, Zhane created a trench that ended with him being half buried in dirt.

(/_\) (￣ー￣) (/_\)

"Zhane!" Davis, Ken, and Cloud shouted as they witnessed their brother getting buried under a pile of dirt.

"We have to go help him!" Zack said as he made for the door. But to his surprise, Tomoyo stood in his way.

"No, Zhane isn't done yet." She told them.

"Are you nuts? Look at him!" Davis said as he motioned toward the monitor.

"I am, why don't you do the same?" Tomoyo nodded toward the screen.

The Soldiers turned back and they gasped as they watched Zhane slowly pulled himself out of the dirt. His nose was bleeding profusely, indicating that it was broken. He had a gash over his left eye and blood flowed down the side of his face, forcing him to close his eye. There was no doubt that he was in bad shape but to their surprise, he was smiling.

"Zhane isn't done, not by a long shot." Tomoyo told them.

"Ironically enough, that's what he needs to win against Sephiroth." Rikku stated.

"Why is he even fighting? He's got like no chance in winning against Sephiroth." Fuko said aloud. "I mean, its not like he's even a First. He's still a Third."

"Fuko, this is one of those times where you need to shut up." Tomoyo told her. "Zhane might not be a First but he is fighter."

"And let me guess, fighters have to fight, right?" Fuko asked, already knowing what her fellow Turk would say.

"You really believe in him that much?" Cissnei asked, wondering why Tomoyo would stand up for the young teen. Tomoyo wasn't like most women, she wouldn't waste her time with a guy. In fact, since she joined, Cissnei had never even seen Tomoyo so much as look at a guy with interest.

Tomoyo turned to look at Cissnei but she didn't answer, she didn't need to. She simply gave her colleague a short nod before turning her attention back on the screen.

(/_\) (￣ー￣) (/_\)

Zhane cursed under his breath for the umpteenth time. Focusing on his Restore Materia, he cast Cura and completely healed his external injuries. Sephiroth had actually knocked his Regen off with the last punch and Zhane didn't want to waste the energy casting it again.

With his cut closed, Zhane was able to open his left eye again. All the while this went on, his smile never left his face. Despite the sense of dread, despite knowing that he couldn't win, Zhane felt thrilled. He felt pumped, excited that he had the opportunity to clash with such a titan. Sephiroth had pushed him to his limits and it was now that Zhane would find out what he was made of, if he was truly worthy of protecting the world.

"I'm impressed…you're still conscious after receiving a punch at half my full strength…" Sephiroth said as he walked over to the teen. "Not many would be able to stand much less continue fighting after receiving a blow like that…you should feel proud."

"Doesn't matter, does it?" Zhane asked. He breathing hard, his fatigue already weighing down on him. But he refused to give up. He would find a way to win or die trying. "I'm not any closer to beating you, am I?"

"No…" Sephiroth agreed. "But then again, you never had a chance to begin with…"

"…you're such a prick, you know that?" Zhane told him, glaring at the First.

Sephiroth merely shrugged the comment off. "The truth hurts."

"Yea? Well I'm gonna show you another thing that hurts!" Zhane raised his hand and fire off twin fireballs.

"Please…" Sephiroth waved his hand in front of him. Moments later, the ground trembled and several columns of earth rose from the ground, creating a wall of earth. The fireballs hit the earthen wall and exploded as they made contact. But as the smoke cleared, the walls remained with Sephiroth standing on of it.

Looking down at the scorch marks on the wall, Sephiroth scoffed before turning back to face Zhane. "Ouch…" he said, his voice monotone. Sephiroth then raised his hand and aimed his palm toward Zhane. "If you want to see what a real Materia can do, pay close attention."

"Fu-" Zhane was barely able to raise his arms in front of him as he witnessed a dark glow flash from Sephiroth's palm before he was consumed by a powerful explosion.

Sephiroth simply watched as Flare consumed the area where Zhane had been standing. The powerful Fire-based attack destroyed everything in the vicinity, leaving only charred land behind. He was mildly surprised that Zhane's body was nowhere to be found.

"So you still have enough energy to cast Haste?" Sephiroth asked, knowing that Zhane was standing behind him.

"Barely…" Zhane confessed. "I doubt I could keep it active for long…"

"I see…then let me show you the next spell I had in mind." Sephiroth spun around, ducking underneath an open palm strike from Zhane that was aimed for the back of his head. With an open palm strike of his own, he sent the Third flying into the air. "Have a taste of Tornado!"

His hand glowed gray for a moment before a large vacuum of arm began to form. The winds swept past him as they circled around Zhane's position, carrying him in their currents. But to his surprise, Zhane spun around once before extending his hand to the sky. The action had seemed pointless but not a split second later the tornado dispersed and Zhane landed in a crouch several yards away from him.

"Impressive…what exactly did you do?" Sephiroth asked.

"I sent a powerful gust of air upwards that dispersed your little tornado…" Zhane told him. "I had help from the Lord of the Skies…"

"I see…I didn't know that Thirds were finally allowed to carry summons…" Sephiroth said, not really caring. "But it doesn't matter, summon or no summon, you still can't defeat me."

"We'll see about that! Now Bahamut!" Zhane shouted as he leaped away.

Turning his gaze to the sky, Sephiroth saw the Dragon King soaring high above him. He had not seen Bahamut in years, not since he had first defeated him and acquired his own. But there was something different about this one, it seemed, for a lack of a better word, alive. Sensing that he was in some danger, Sephiroth extended his left hand to the side and within seconds, his Masamune materialized in his hand.

"I don't know what you hope to accomplish…" Sephiroth shouted as Bahamut began to power up his attack. "But its not going to work!"

Twisting his blade, Sephiroth leaped into the air, choosing to face the Conqueror of the Skies head on.

(/_\) (￣ー￣) (/_\)

"Holy shit! Get everyone back!" Rikku shouted as she moved toward the door.

They were all watching as Sephiroth's sword began to glow brightly as he charged what looked like to be his Limit Break. Bahamut was moments away from unleashing his Mega Flare and they had feeling that the training room would not be able to handle the combined power of the clashing titans.

"Cloud, Davis, Ken, clear the floor!" Zack ordered as he made to help the Shinra Technicians escape.

They didn't need to be told twice as they hurried to evacuate the floor. As they did, they all heard Kunsel curse and Tomoyo shouting for everyone to duck. Cloud barely managed to catch a glimpse of the screen before he was tackled to the ground by someone behind him.

(/_\) (￣ー￣) (/_\)

Sephiroth felt something that he hadn't in years. He felt excitement. A thrill that could only be felt from experiencing a challenge. While he would never admit it to anyone, this lowly Third had given him something that he had craved. And now, he would make sure to make the most of it. Too bad it wouldn't last.

Bahamut fired his Mega Flare and Sephiroth watched as the massive ball of energy came barreling down toward him. He was confident that his Limit Break would be more than enough to cut through the attack and then he would defeat the summon.

But as he prepared to unleash his attack, Sephiroth stopped as he heard someone call out his name.

"Yo, Sephi!"

Turning toward his right, Sephiroth was shocked to see Zhane seemingly appear next to him, fist cocked back and aimed for his face. The young Third was grinning like a mad man and it was at that moment that Sephiroth realized what the Third planned to do.

"Yippie-kai-yay, mothefu-"

Stunned by the audacity of the young man, Sephiroth did nothing to stop the incoming blow he received. The punch was nothing special, just an ordinary hit. But what came after it wasn't ordinary. They were both caught up in the Mega Flare and as they came crashing down into the ground below, Sephiroth's world went black.

(/_\) (￣ー￣) (/_\)

As the explosion rocked the Training Room, everyone was thrown back as the glass panels shattered from the force of the blast. Luckily the only ones in the room were Zack and Tomoyo. The others had been standing outside of the door and despite that they too were knocked down.

As the sprinkler system kicked in, which amazed Zack that they would seeing the state that the room was in, both Zack and Tomoyo quickly made their way through the clouds of smoke and into the remains of the virtual room.

To their surprise, both Zhane and Sephiroth were lying face down in the middle of a small crater. Neither Soldier stirred and Zack began to fear the worst. As he was about to call upon the curative magic of Curaga, Sephiroth began to groan.

"W-What happened?" he asked as he shook his head.

"Whoa, you're alive!" Zack exclaimed as he knelt beside the First.

Sephiroth looked annoyed at Zack's surprise. "Of course I'm alive…" he said.

"Man…what did you do to him?" Zack asked. He was staring down at Zhane who was being looked after by Tomoyo. She was feeling for his pulse and luckily she sighed with relief after locating it.

"Tch…the boy actually managed to hit me…" Sephiroth said, sounding annoyed. He stood up and glanced down at his clothes. They were tattered, a first for the First since he had never been caught in a blast like that. "He actually damaged my clothes…" he sounded surprised, which surprised both him and Zack.

"Well that's what you get for underestimating him…" Zack told him. "Not to mention that he managed to knock you down…"

"Don't be ridiculous…Bahamut knocked me down, not this boy…" Sephiroth stated, sending a glare at Zack. "And besides…I won…"

Zack couldn't help but grin. "I don't know…technically you were knocked out for a moment there…I think it was more of a draw…"

"Is that so?" Sephiroth asked with a raised brow. "Then perhaps I should kill him order to fix the record…after all, technically only one of us should remain alive…"

"Nah, that's alright, I think you won after all." Zack said quickly, hoping that Sephiroth had just been joking about finishing Zhane off.

"Still…I have to admit…I was impressed by the kid…" Sephiroth admitted. He was staring at the unconscious form of Zhane as Tomoyo continued to check him over. "Once he recovers…tell him that I'll be looking forward to our next match."

"What are you gonna do now?" Zack asked.

"I'm going to get a change of clothes…" Sephiroth told him. "Then I'm going to speak with Director Lazard about reinforcing the Training Room. This the second time this week that's its been destroyed…"

"Alright…next time you have some time off, you should help me train the new Thirds…" Zack offered. "I'm pretty sure that you won't be disappointed…"

Sephiroth actually smiled. "I'd like that…" with one last glance at Zhane, Sephiroth began to walk away. As he did, he thought about the match he just had. That last move by Zhane, while foolish, it had actually caught him off guard. He would remember that for the next time they fought. As that thought passed through his mind, Sephiroth realized that he didn't know what Materia the boy had used. "Say…" he stopped by the door and glanced over his shoulder to look at Zack. "You wouldn't happen to know the Materia the boy used to teleport, would you?"

Zack shook his head. "No, sorry. I think he might've found it on his last mission because I've never seen anything like it before…"

"Alright…till next time…" and with Sephiroth was gone.

Zack turned toward Tomoyo and saw that she had finished her diagnosis. "How is he?" he asked.

"He's alive…" Tomoyo answered. While faint, Zack heard the underlying hint of relief. Cissnei was right, Tomoyo did care for Zhane.

"That's good…" Zack said. Despite the situation, he couldn't help but grin. Just know that Tomoyo cared about Zhane made him feel glad for no other reason than to be happy for them. "Is it safe to move him?"

"I believe so…I think Sephiroth shielded him from the blast because I don't see any wounds or cuts on him." Tomoyo told him. "The only injuries he sustained were those that Sephiroth had given him during the match…but those have already been healed."

"So he's completely fine?" Zack asked just to make sure.

To his relief, Tomoyo nodded. "He just needs rest. He'll wake up once he's hungry…"

Zack began to nod before a question popped in his head. "How do you know he'll wake up once he's hungry?"

To his surprise, Tomoyo actually smiled. "I just do…"

Sensing that she wouldn't elaborate, Zack simply shrugged before bending down to pick up the young teen. "Well in any case, we should probably get him to his room…I think the Shinra engineers are gonna be unhappy once they see this place…"

**End of chapter.**

Well what did you think? I'm confident that none of you were expecting that. Zhane put a good fight but in the end, he couldn't pull off an upset. Still, I wanted to show off some of Zhane's skills. Though to be honest, it was more his reckless courage than his actually skills that threw Sephiroth off. That last move, while incredible risky, did manage to knock the First down. But Sephiroth is too strong to be taken down for long. I'd say that Zhane managed to earn a bit of respect from Sephiroth. What do you think?

Also the next chapter is gonna focus mostly on Cloud. I kind of feel bad because I'm not really giving him much screen time. So for those of you who are Cloudaholics, the next one is gonna be for you. Lol. I've been watching way too much WWE.

Till next time.


End file.
